Axe Girls
by Silvergrrl
Summary: ENTIRELY REWRITTEN! When Eve Abyss, a girl from district seven, is reaped, it isn't just a game; it's a fight for life and a fight for revenge. Rated T for sexual themes and minor swearing. If you've read this before please reread and tell me what you think, if not I hope you enjoy! Please review, any constructive criticism I will take into consideration! COMPLETE!
1. Reaping

**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games, or some of the characters in these games, although I did invent quite a few characters of my own for these games.**

I wake up much earlier than I normally would because something keeps bumping me. That something being my 18 year old brother, Emmett.

"Eve! Wake up and get dressed! It's nearly time for the reaping!"

I get up slowly, taking the luxury of a bath on this very special day where the capitol takes two of our children and sends them off to be pampered and die. I guess by now it's just a way of life, the hunger games have been there since my mother was a little girl.

I meet mom, dad, and Emmett downstairs, now dressed in my Sunday best: a worn yellow sundress, and shovel some food in my mouth before departing and finding my place among district seven's 16-year olds. I play with my wavy brown hair as I stand around, barely listening to the history of the hunger games.

Orchid takes the stage, Lilac colored hand wrapped around the microphone, deep purple and red-purple streaks always present in her white-blonde hair, "Happy 54th Hunger Games!" The faces of everyone present remain blank and she trots over to the girls' ball, "Evelyn Abyss."

"What!" I stumble up to the stage and quickly try to regain my composure and remain unaffected, but I'm going into the games. I had two years left and I would have been free.

She clips over to the boys' ball and pulls "Jupiter Grey"s name from within it.

"Do we have any volunteers?" Orchid looks at the rows of girls, backing away just slightly, then turns to the boys. Emmett's standing next to me, trying to shove me off stage.

"I'll take Eve's place. Only Eve's," his eyes are dark, it's a look I've never seen before and one I never want to see again.

Orchid looks between me and him, "Uh… I'm not sure that's allowed." She pulls a small device from her pocket and holds it to her face "Is that allowed?"

I look up at Emmett as she talks with god knows who, "What are you doing?"

"Dad would kill me if something happened to you. I'm not letting anything happen. You're my sister; it's my job to protect you."

"It's ok Emmett I'll grab an axe and hack away at anyone who gets in my way," I give him my best reassuring smile, but he doesn't buy it.

Orchid walks back up to the microphone, "I'm sorry to say that you cannot take your sisters place in the games. If one of the ladies over here would like to take the place of Blight, you can come in instead of your sister."

Nobody moves, "I'm taking her place."

"Emmett, go. I'll be fine. I know how to protect myself."

He saunters off the stage, "Not from everything."

I bite my lip and shake Jupiter's hand before Orchid ushers off into the Justice Building after the anthem.

I wait in the justice building, mom and dad enter first. I hug them immediately, "where's Emmett?"

"We don't know, he's pretty upset. He wandered off," Mom runs her fingers through my hair, her eyes watering.

Dad stands there silently, unable to bring himself to say anything. They eventually usher my parents out. And I sit on the small couch; I'll never see any of my friends again…

The door reopens, and there's Emmett, the same dark eyes look in his eyes. I shudder involuntarily.

"I brought you something" he holds out a package wrapped in brown paper, "it was supposed to be for your birthday."

I take it from his hands and open it slowly; a smile spreads across my face as I see the small wood carving he's been working on and keeping secret for the past few months: a smooth, round piece of wood with an intricate tree carved into it. It's on a thick brown string and I tie it around my neck.

"I'll miss you, Emmett, but I will be back. I promise," I hug him tightly and try not to cry, because I really don't have a huge chance to win.

**Please Review I'd like to know how the story is now that I've completely revised it. :D**

**Also, I had a comment recently that my grammar is rubbish. I've used Spell Check and thought I got all the errors. If you see any please tell me where. Help is greatly appreiciated and I'll give you a virtual cookie!**


	2. Opening Ceremonies

They lead us to the train, when I get on I just stand there like a five year old in a bakery. The place is amazing, the small wooden everything of district seven looks like the shacks of district 12 compared to the chrome and glass and who knows what else that covers the train. I run my fingers along the smooth surfaces and marvel at the beauty of it all.

My mentor, Melody, is sitting at the table and I head over to her, she asks if I have any plans yet.

"I want to work alone" I drum my fingers on the table absently.

"Good tactic, I used it in my games and it worked pretty well," I remember her games, she ran through the camps of all the tributes and poisoned their food supplies making the weak die and the strong weak enough to kill.

She turns on the television so we can watch the reapings of the other districts. The pair from district one, volunteered of course, they're brother and sister, a little odd if you ask me. District two was also pretty strong and definitely would be careers. Four will join them and maybe the boy from three, he was stronger than is average for their district. Maybe not though.

District twelve's only mentor was drunk, again. Those poor tributes won't make it past the bloodbath, they're sickly looking. At least in district seven we get enough to eat so we have the energy to work.

We finally arrive in the capitol and Orchid shows us our floor and rooms. If possible, the capitol is even more magnificent than the train. We have a few hours to kill before the last of the districts gets here, so I fall asleep and await the call to head down to the prep team.

Orchid knocks on my door, jolting me out of my slumber, and I groggily head to the elevator and down to the prep team. Reflection and Blue-Bee meet me in the stark white room and proceed to rip all the hair out of my body, scourge my skin with exfoliating stuff, and cool it down with a heavenly lotion. They exit and my stylist enters, Rae.

"So, what am I going to be dressed as a tree?"

"Nope!" she grins from ear to ear, flicking her red-orange hair out of her face.

"Seriously?"

"Yep. You're going to be a lumberjack! Or would you call it a lumber-Jane?" she ponders this question like her life depends on it, while I stand there naked. She finally comes to her senses and grabs the black bag she had hung on the rack upon entering. She dresses me in a red plaid shirt, short overalls, and leather boots and pulls my hair into a side braid. I stare at my reflection blankly; there is no way I'm getting sponsors. At least I'm not a tree.

Jupiter is dressed as a lumberjack too; we get in the chariots and wait for the other districts to go. District one is in their usual gem encrusted outfits, winning the hearts of the audience. District two gets a fair amount of attention. Three is a mess of wires. Four is dressed as mermaids. Five is dressed in neon yellow outfits, apparently representing their production of power. District six is dressed as cars. Classy.

And then our chariot goes, lights block my vision and I wave blindly as my eyes adjust. I finally see the capitol citizens and a few are clapping meekly. I stop waving and cross my arms over my chest. I stare at them and try not to look too upset, but I know my face is contorted in anger. Seriously, they can't cheer even a little? They cheered for six's automobile outfits. We make it to the center and I stare at President Snow and look as if I'm paying close attention to his every word.

We finally leave and I change out of the ridiculous outfits that no one wears in district seven, even though yes, we're technically lumberjacks. I head upstairs in a thin white robe and grab a silky green top and black pants, and head to the living room where Orchid is waiting, hands on her hips, foot tapping.

"You're supposed to perform, Eve. To entertain the audience, so they like you."

I grab a plate of food and plunk myself on the couch. I take a bite of some sort of creamy rice and blink innocently. She storms off to her room. I head to bed after I gorge myself on food, and twirl the necklace from my brother in my hands and run my finger over the imprint on the front.

**I know this isn't the most exciting chapter but if you could review what you think so far that would be amazing!**


	3. Training Day One

When Orchid doesn't come to wake me up, I get up myself, knowing I need all the experience I can get during training sessions. I dress in blue leggings, a tank top in the same color, and a sheer, flowy top, and head down to the training center. They pin a number seven on my back and I glance up at the gamemakers as I head over to where the rest of the tributes are sitting.

The girl from district 2, Anya, is raving about how amazing she is at hand-to-hand combat. The girl from district 1, Flicker, is playing with her hair and eying the knives greedily, I'm watching out for her. Her brother, Flame is flexing his muscles for anyone who'll watch. Soon I see the gamemakers come in with clipboards. I turn back to watching the tributes. The boy from district 12 looks starved, he and the girl look like they haven't eaten in years

After going through the rules, I look around and plan on going to the axe station last. I head to the swimming station, which I've never done before, and get the trainer to help me. She explains the basics, and I get ready to jump in the pool… and I'm going to jump… eventually. I feel hands on my back and I fall into the pool and flounder, waving my arms wildly as the instructor yells instructions at me. I finally manage to keep myself up and can swim a very slow lap across the pool adequately, and leave the pool.

I look at the stations once more and try to figure out a little more about my competition. The girl from district five is doing cartwheels around the circle, I believe her name is Robin, the boy is staring at the climbing station like it's the only thing in the room, I don't know his name. I spot the strong guy from district three I remembered from the reaping. District three is the electronics district, so it's rare to find a strong tribute from that area. He winks in my direction when he catches me staring, I look away quickly.

I head to the agility station and check out the course. I breeze through the obstacle course, jumping speedily from platform to platform, dodging projectiles, and ducking under foam swords. I get a few cuts and bruises, but pass the course.

After the agility course I head to the axe station and the instructor comes up to "help" me but I wave him off. I've never thrown axes before and I decide to learn. It takes some time. And a lot of focus, I spend the rest of the day learning how to throw axes, but by the end I can hit the target 80% of the time and once in a while can hit the center of the target. Pleased with what I've done I leave the station and check the time.

Since the day is almost over anyway, I head up to dinner while most of the tributes are still training. I get some sort of creamy soup that tastes heavenly. They give us wine with dinner; I drain the whole thing because I'm just going to die anyway. What's one drink going to do? A few other tributes come up; the pairs from district one and two come over to sit at my table.

"Uh? Hi." I say.

"You want to join our alliance?"

"Uh, does it look like I need your alliance?"

They stare at me.

"That means no," they get up and leave, shooting dirty looks at me once in a while. Others start arriving and when they try to sit with me I tell them I'm not interested in an alliance and they leave.

And then there's Aloe. He walks right over to my table and sits down.

"Look, I'm not interested in alliances, so…"

"Oh, I know that already, Eve. Everyone does by now."

"So why are you over here?"

"Cause I can be. I'm not interested in alliances either."

I get up to leave and he grabs my hand and pulls me back into my seat, by now everyone is watching.

"Let me go."

"Nah, don't feel like it."

"Let me go!"

"No."

I growl at him. The girl at the table near us picks up her food and hurries to another table.

He smirks. I continue eating and ignore him. Suddenly he grabs my face and kisses me; at first I'm shocked… and about to slap him. But damn! Annoying boy kisses well. I'm soon on his chair making out with him. After "dinner" we head up stair to my room. He pulls at my pants and I grab his hand pushing him away.

"Aw come one! One of us is dying. I'd rather do a little something before I die."

I pause.

"Come on! Do you want to be sold as a sex slave if you win?"

The more I think about what he said the more I realize that even if I do get through this there's no way Emmett is going to let me have sex, or a boyfriend, or out of the house. I think a minute before letting him undress me...

**Please Review! Constructive criticism really is appreciated!**


	4. Training Day Two

I wake up early again, but today I have a pounding headache. Then I remember the wine. Then I see Aloe in my bed. Then I remember last night.

Oh my god! Emmett's going to kill me if he finds out. I grab some clothes from the closet and head to the dresser and pull of out some fresh clothes. I change quickly in the bathroom and silently slip through the door and head downstairs to breakfast to meet with Melody.

"You didn't talk to e yesterday. And I heard you were with a boy last night."

"What? What did you hear?"

"I heard you got drunk and seemed really into him. What did you do last night?" the look she gives me is quite condescending, and I give her quite the face in return before responding.

"I honestly don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No! I don't! I have to go, Melody," I stomp off to the elevator to head to the training room; she stops the elevator from closing with her foot.

"Don't make stupid mistakes girl, you'll regret them, and I'd love to have another female mentor around here."

The elevator door closes and I'm left in silence. She holds my fate in her hands and I haven't been listening to her. But she doesn't know what the games are like, or who I am, or what will help me in these games. She just controls my sponsor gifts, and if she honestly wants another mentor, then she'll do a good job.

When I walk in I see Aloe immediately and try to avoid him, to no avail. He sees me instantly and struts over.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"So, did you have as much fun as I did last night?"

"I was drunk."

"I'll say we were. You had more than I did."

"Wait… what? When did I have more wine?"

"We ordered a bottle. Remember?"

"Uh. No. what else don't I remember?"

"Well, you remember the sex right?"

"Unfortunately." My head is screaming _God yes_ right now.

"Aw come on, you know you liked it. You were screaming my name all night long."

"Was not!"

"Were too."

"You are so… frustrating…"

"…ly sexy?"

"Only in your dreams." I walk to the fire starting station and begin to make a fire.

He wraps his hands around mine, and I pull away, "Thanks but I don't need your help."

"You might not need my help in the bedroom, but you need my help making a fire."

"I can do it with flint!" I take a piece of flint and a stone, and indeed I quickly have a nice fire going. "I just can't do it without the flint."

"Here," he takes the sticks and places them in my hands; putting his around mine he makes a sparks and soon has a fire. But I wasn't paying attention; I was too busy trying not to blush. And he noticed the blush anyway.

"Your turn," he says with a sly grin.

I grab two sticks and rub them together, getting… nothing.

"Do you need me to show you again?"

"No, I'll just make sure Melody sends me some flint as soon as the games start." I turn and walk to the edible plants station. I study the plants as he tells me which ones are poisonous and some key things to look for in edible plants. After I think I have them down, I have him test me. I'm almost done with the test when Aloe comes up behind me.

"One. Seventeen. Thirty-two. One-hundred and seventeen."

"That only works when someone is counting. Poisonous." The instructor nods.

"It can work both ways. See if I talk to you, I distract you, because you're totally turned on by me."

"That's what you think. Like I said I was drunk last night. Edible." He nods again.

"Doesn't mean you don't think these" he lifts his shirt, "aren't sexy."

I turn a fraction of an inch and see smoking hot abs. "Uh…edible."

"Poisonous." The instructor says.

"Told you I could distract you."

"I just forgot that one. Absolutely nothing to do with you. Poisonous." I finish the test. Now will you quit following me?"

"Did I leave your table last night?"

"No." I grumble.

"There's you answer. Oh wait, actually I did, with you, to your room."

We head to lunch and Aloe pulls me into a room off of the dining room and pushes me against the wall, and his persistent hands soon have my clothes on the floor and my body pressed to his.

I emerge from the small room and an avox stares at me, she continues to the table of food and replaces an empty tray of food with the one in her hand. I quickly make a sandwich with a croissant and some sort of meat salad and head back to the training center.

I head to the climbing station and do ok, then go to the camouflage station and fail miserably. Then the careers walk over, "you think you're better than us?" Flicker probes.

"Uh. No. I just don't need a team."

"You won't last for long pipsqueak." Flare utters.

"First off: I'm not a pipsqueak. I could take shit like you any day. Second: if you don't think I'm good, then why do you want me on your team? Last: you stay out of my way I'll stay out of yours. Have a nice day." I skip off to the elevator to head up to the seventh floor to relax.

The elevator doors slide open and Aloe and the girl from five, Robin, are in there, their hips moving together, with no clothes on, their faces mashed together, moaning in pleasure. I could cry; I could scream; I could hurl; I could kill him. And I will.

**Please review! Tell me what you think I'm doing wrong, if she's too Mary-Sue, if it's better than the original (Not the Hunger Games orginal, my Axe Girl original (if you read that one).**


	5. Charming

I run for the stairs and make my way to the seventh floor, and collapse on the soft carpeted ground. I rub my hand on the textured fabric, mesmerized by the sensation on the skin of my fingertips.

I crawl to my room, closing and locking the door before Orchid or Melody can yell at me. I press random buttons to order food and scarf down everything as it appears. Bile builds up in my throat the more I think of what I saw when the elevator doors opened, and I rush to the bathroom in time for everything to come back up and wash down into the fancy capitol plumbing.

I clean off my face and stare back at the reflection in the mirror. I don't know why I thought he'd actually like someone like me. I'm no dazzling beauty like most of the careers. I'm nothing. My nose is too big, my lips are fat, my hair is a stupid color, and my eyes are nothing special. I'm normal. He even said he just wants to have sex before he dies.

I fall into the cloudlike, capitol bed and lay there, reflecting on all the stupid things I've done since I got here, unable to fall asleep.

Sleep hit me at some point, because Orchid is yelling loudly for me to get up and get ready for my private session. At least she's talking to me again.

I dress similarly to how I did the past few days and head down to the training center. Jupiter is sitting in a chair by the closed, metal door. I nod to him and sit in a chair in the farthest corner. The girl from six walks out and they call "District seven boy" into the room. I watch Blight walk through the door before it slams shut behind him. The room looks pretty much the same as it was during training.

I wait for a few minutes and Jupiter finally exits. When they call "District seven girl" butterflies leap in my stomach and I enter the door. The gamemakers are sitting above the tribute area and talking avidly, I see President Snow whisper something to a man who writes something on a clipboard. Scores? I walk to the center of the room and look around. I see the axes and head over to them; I weigh a few in my hands before settling on a small/medium one. I swing it around to test it. I swing it at the dummies surrounding the training center and try to show off my finesse with an axe. Then I see him… Aloe, standing there in white at the edge of the training center. I tackle him to the ground.

"Aloe, you bastard, when we get in the arena I'm going to gut you like a pig!" I hold my axe over him threateningly as I straddle him and try not to cry. Someone drags me off him and I look around to see that it's an avox. I glare back at Aloe… and realize it isn't Aloe at all, but another avox. I look around, totally confused, and follow the instructions of the gamemakers as they tell me I can leave.

I head upstairs in a daze and meet Orchid and Melody and Jupiter's mentor, Blight. "How'd it go?" Melody looks sincere enough, so I answer truthfully.

"I attacked an avox because I thought it was Aloe."

Her eyes don't blink and I can't tell what she's thinking.

"It's not like avox's are important anyway," Orchid smiles widely trying to lighten the mood. She looks around for approval and slumps in her seat ever so slightly when she receives none.

I sit on the couch and we wait in silence for the last of the tributes to finish and the scores to be announced. My performance was mediocre. I'm sure they've seen tributes with much better axe skills than me. The wild card is the avox attack.

The scores finally come up. The careers average in the 8-10 range, Flicker and Flame both get nines, Anya (2) gets a 7, Cleaver (2) gets a 10, both from district four get eights, Aloe gets a eight, the girl from his district gets a six, the tributes from five and six get 5-7s.

Then Tyson pops up on the screen. He gets an eight. My face pops up there; I cross my fingers, hoping for and five… or better. Seven! I tied with one of the careers! The other districts I don't pay as much attention to, but I know they ranged from 3-6. And the girl from district twelve gets a two.

In the morning I meet with Melody to discuss what my angle will be for the interviews. I think for a while and come up with very little. I can't pull off sexy. I don't look tough and I only got a seven. I figure there will be at least one question about Emmett, so I can play up that side. I could try to play up innocent, or nice or sincere, or all three.

Rae dressed me in a long green dress that shimmers, leave my feet bare, and puts a leather headband over my hair. I pull the necklace from Emmett out from under the dress so it shows and wait for our entrance. I make it onstage without freaking out and sit in my chair. The cold stage floor under my feet feels amazing.

Flicker, wearing a short red dress, heads up to Caesar, she plays up the sexy angle. Flame plays up his strength, flexing at every moment possible (he's wearing a sleeveless vest). Anya, from two, wearing a short leather dress, plays up the vicious side, blatantly answering questions in the most ruthless ways possible. Cleaver tries to win over the females in the audience, but he's not the most charming. Taylor, from three, is just hyper and kind of crazy. It's almost scary. Aloe is charming, and it makes me want to scream knowing that he used that against me.

Too soon it's my turn; I head up onstage to Caesar.

"Evelyn, you look charming," I hate the word charming; it makes me think of _him_. I scowl.

Caesar looks stunned, "Did I do something wrong? Oh it's just Eve isn't it?"

I don't think before I respond, "I don't care about that."

"Then whatever did I do wrong?"

"You used _that word."_

"What word? Charming?" I make a face when he says it, "What's wrong with charming?"

"There's a certain rather _charming_ boy here, whose guts I'd like to rip out."

"Ooh! Can you tell us who he is?"

"Well, Caesar you already interviewed him, and he was quite _charming_ wasn't he?" I glare in Aloe's direction, and he feigns innocence. "Can we talk about something else? Please."

"Sure. Why don't you tell us about that brother of yours?"

I smile, "Emmett? He's the best brother ever…"

The buzzer rings out, "Aww, that's all the time we have. I'm sorry Eve."

I sit back down and swear silently, that was not part of the plan.


	6. Monster

I say goodnight to the team but don't head to my room. I take the elevator up to the roof to sit alone, with just myself, for my last day of sanity.

Then I start thinking, not the best plan in the midst of all the stress. _Why does all the bad shit happen to me? Why can't I just have a normal life? God, I'm such an idiot! I played right into Aloe's trap. I'm so fucking stupid! Why can't I do anything right?_

I spot the edge of the building in front of me. The people of the capitol are partying, like this is something to celebrate, the death of twenty-three kids. Screw it! They can't control me! I won't be a part of their games!

I stand up and walk towards the edge of the roof, _don't look down! Oops! I looked down!_

_Don't be a coward, stupid! That won't get you anywhere._ I take a deep breath and close my eyes, stepping over the edge. I feel wind beneath my feet, and then something pushes against me. _I can't be at the bottom yet! _

I open my eyes, as I fall back onto the roof. _What the hell! Not fair! I hate my life!_ Instead I grab the potted plants and hurl them off the building, waiting to hear the light tinkling sound of the stupid things breaking. Potted plants soon come flying back up at me and I'm forced to duck under a table until they've all shattered on the hard floor. There's some kind of force field there I guess.

I head to my room to try to get some sleep, it's useless. It's not a good night. I wake up every hour after nightmares: being attacked, Emmett trapped in the arena looking for me, Dad getting mauled by the gamemakers' creations…

I wake up for the last time at six and take a long shower. I head down to my last breakfast in the capitol, and grab a biscuit and some cocoa and take it with me to meet with Rae one last time. I walk to the elevator and take it down to the floor where we are sent to our death.

"So what're we wearing in the arena?"

She silently shows me the rack of clothes. I put them on. Black shorts, a black tank top, a white sweater, and white tennis shoes. I step onto the circle and try to give Rae a reassuring smile. She smiles back sadly, and suddenly I'm immobile. When I can finally move again, it's dark. Nighttime I think. I look around; the golden cornucopia seems to be emitting light so we can see. There's woods all around us surrounded by a ring of mountains. I don't care much for the mountains, but the woods are perfect. I look at the items surrounding the cornucopia while I wait for the thirty seconds to be up. I see a few axes in different places and make a mental path to get as many as I can and get away.

When the gong rings out I sprint towards the nearest axe and snag a backpack on my way, I un-zipper it, grab the axe and toss it in as I head for the next one. I manage to get five axes before I realize I need to get out of there. A tribute runs towards me and I swing the axe currently in my hand and it grazes her neck, she should bleed out soon enough, so I leave for the forest.

I run far into the woods and find the nearest clearing. I look through my backpack and find a large blanket, a long rope, and a bottle of water. Then the cannons start, I count seven. So, we have sixteen tributes left.

Looking around carefully I try to figure out the best way to avoid the career pack. I search the area to make sure no other tributes are around before I hack down tree branches and tie them together to make a platform. I make sure to get the branches from a bunch of different trees so that it isn't obvious that I'm here. I find a stable layer of branches and cut off all the leafy braches connected. I grab the plank and tie it to the tree. I take the extra leafy branches and disguise my tree house.

I head out into the woods, axe in hand to find some food. I wait and see a deer and throw my axe, and miss. I move a little further away, but make sure to keep my tree in sight. I hear rustling in some bushes and hide behind a tree. A rabbit emerges and I aim carefully. I manage to hit it and it no longer runs to I take my axe and chop off its head.

Then there's the gruesome task of taking off the fur and skin. I make faces as I do this, unable to stand the sight of the body that I mangled and cut it into chunks to cook it. I try to start a fire with sticks but fail every time and soon give up. I stuff the meat in one of the pockets of my bag and climb into the tree. I'm not that hungry right now anyway, I can wait until Melody sends me some flint.

I lay the blanket across the rough, unsanded wood to protect myself and hang my bag on a branch before leaning against the tree trunk from my platform to keep watch.

I see Robin from five and grab my axe as a red haze clouds my eyes. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating but I really want to kill the bitch. She was after all the one he slept with in the elevator. I grip my axe and perch on the edge of the ledge to wait for the perfect opportunity. She hears a sound and turns her back to me and I whip the axe as accurately and fast as I can. It doesn't go quite where I wanted it to, but hits her and she falls. I swipe another axe from my bag and leap out of the tree and tackle her to the ground as she tries to get up.

"This is for sleeping with him bitch," I imbed my axe in her skull, grab both and launch myself into my tree. A cannon fires and the hovercraft comes to take her body away.

The capitol seal appears in the sky and shows Robin from five, the girl from six, boy from nine, girl from ten, both from eleven, both from twelve. I killed two of those people! I killed two people! The girls from twelve during the bloodbath, and Robin… I'm a monster! I'm as bad as the careers! I start breathing heavily and blackness covers my vision.

**Review ****Por**** favor!**


	7. Run and Hide

I awake a few hours later. The sun is rising slowly and I look out of the branches of the tree to watch it. As the rays of the sun touch the trees they seem to disappear. They're disintegrating! I gather my things and leap down from the tree, wielding an axe in case of any oncoming attacks.

When the trees around me have all disintegrated into small piles of colored sand, I look around me and see the other tributes in different areas of the arena, shocked and scared or laughing and ready for blood.

I see the careers standing on a pile of blue sand not ten yards from me. They run towards me passing over piles of green sand, purple sand, lavender sand, bright yellow sand, red sand… and then they're upon me. I wink and wave at them.

"How have you been?" I act as though they are friends I haven't seen in a few years, but I don't hug them.

"Shut up bitch," Flicker steps forward a belt of knives surrounding her thin waist. She pulls a long jagged one out and eyes me like I'm a pig ready for slaughter. I grip my axe a little tighter as she steps closer, we circle each other and I cry out as a sharp, white hot pain erupts from my thigh. I'd been so focused on Flicker I hadn't realized she'd circled me so that my back was to the careers. I swing my axe as I turn to Flame who has a sword coated in sticky red blood in his grip. I miss his head by inches as he jumps away.

Then the chaos breaks out, I'm dodging and blocking like my life depends on it. Ducking under a sword, jumping out of the way of the boy from two's massive body as it pummels towards me, rolling to the ground when three of Flicker's daggers rush towards me. One sticks in my shoulder and is only pushed further in as I try to evade them. Thoroughly tired now, I just try to get away. The girl from district four throws a spear at me and it whizzes by my head. I continue running, my heart caught in my throat.

When I no longer hear heavy breathing and the stomping of feet behind me, I turn to see where they went. I see the hyper girl from three and and hear her crazed laughas she runs away from the careers. The boy from four is lying on the ground, aqua sand turning red beneath him, a minute ticks by and I hear his cannon. His district partner screams in outrage and rushes three. Her spear pierces three's stomach and I see the tip emerging slightly in the other end, three falls to the ground and curls into a ball. Four rips her spear out and stabs it into the skull of three. Her cannon goes off; that could easily have been me. I continue running before they see me and decide to continue pursuing me, and try to avoid the remaining tributes.

I see other groups of tributes in the middle of heated battles and walk as close to the mountains as I dare. I sit behind a rock and try to remain invisible as battles end and tributes walk away injured or have died. I tend to my injuries as I wait.

I tear part of my blanket off and cut that strip in half, tying one half over the wound in my leg and the other around my arm after I rip out the blade stuck in it. Two more cannons go off leaving thirteen of us, though who knows how many will die due to injuries later today.

I pull out the rabbit meat and look for something to start a fire. I grab as much brush from the mountainside as I can and stare up at the sky with pleading eyes.

A black parachute falls and I jump up to get it. I have at least a few sponsors. I grab the flint and stone thing and eagerly start a fire, and place the pieces of rabbit meat in the fire. It won't make the tastiest meal, but it'll do. I save three fourths of the small amount of meat I have and eat the rest, sating my hunger for at least a few more hours.

I watch the tributes go off in clumps or alone and head to the outermost edges of the arena, except the careers of course; they head for the nearest group to them, out for blood.

The sun starts to set again and the cornucopia steadily gains luminosity. The sand quickly starts to melt until there is a patch of land in the center of the arena half the size of the original arena. The mountain range melts in a cascade of water and I find myself floundering. I try to remember what the swim instructor told me and kick my legs and move my arms and slowly, oh so very slowly, make my way to the island, which has sprouted palm trees.

I'm the last one to make it to the island I think. I creep onto the shore, climb a palm tree and try to remain hidden. I find a few coconuts dangling by my head and shove one in my quickly filling backpack. I hold onto the tree to save my life as the careers pass under my tree unsuspecting. I remain silent and don't breathe as they walk away. When I'm sure they're gone, I slide down the tree, my arms limp and weak and find a fallen log hidden in the shade to hide under. I watch both sides carefully and jump a little when I hear a cannon. The careers have found their kill. A boy runs by me and a troupe of feet thunders by after him. I wait for the sound of the cannon, when it goes off I count in my head, thirteen down, eleven tributes left, ten more deaths.

**If you'd be so kind as to push that lovely little button there that says "review" I'd be very thankful.**


	8. Savage

The capitol seal flashes across the screen and I see faces light up the sky. The face of the girl from three appears first, the boy from four, boy from five, boy from eight, girl from nine, then the sky goes dark.

When I awake I am freezing. The ground under me is hard and cold. The entire island has frozen over and the sun is up. I pull the black blanket from my bag and cover myself and bunker down under the log. I wait there for quite some time and nothing happens. Snow starts to fall and I see smoke on the horizon. I hear the feet of the careers run by and stay as still as I can until they are past. They keep coming way too close for comfort. I hear two cannon shots and realize that the numbers are indeed slowly dwindling, there are only nine left.

I check my injuries while I wait and listen for approaching tributes but nothing happens for quite a while. I have no idea what time it is as I lay there and try to imagine what the rest of the tributes are doing. I'm guessing most of them are hiding, possibly tending to wounds, maybe even starving. I guess I'm lucky, with my limited sponsors I've managed to make it to nine, maybe even further.

I see a tribute walk by and look up at a tree. She scales it, and a minute later, lands on the ground with a thump. She places a coconut on a rock and pulls out a small sword. She swings the blade at the coconut; it bounces off and flies out of her hand. The coconut rolls off the rock and a few inches away. As the tribute bends down to grab their sword again another tribute walks out of the tropical forest further inland, the boy from district six. He attacks the girl and her cannon sounds.

The boy from six slices her open, and starts eating her! I involuntarily gasp, and the boy looks around, a wild, savage look in his eyes. He begins pulling the girl's body into the forest, but suddenly starts convulsing like he's been hit by lightning. No cannon goes off so I assume he's still alive, but a hovercraft appears and takes the girl's body. He reawakens and disappears into the forest.

I look out over the water and admire the view while I can. The sun begins to set again and a few waves rise in the distance and I watch as they tumble inland. The water sparkles almost as if it's made of metal. The wave gets even closer and then I see them, little foot tall men with bows and swords riding on top of the wave. Some sort of mutt.

I rip the blanket off my body and jam it into the bag, zipping it shut as I run inland. I pass by a tribute but ignore their stunned face. A small prick of pain enters my calf and I look down quickly to see the small, silver arrow protruding from the muscle. It slows me down considerably, but I finally make it into the densely populated tropical forest of the island. The waves have reached almost halfway inland and I'm sure they'll overtake the island at any moment and leave us submerged in water, but they stop and I see the waves solidify into a new mountain range, shrinking the arena to an even smaller area, just the tropical forest where Titus from six disappeared not a few minutes ago.

I creep slowly through the underbrush and listen for any sound of movement. Leaves rustle to my left and I throw an axe towards the bush I believe someone's hiding in. it sticks in the tree next to it and I grab the first thing I find in my bag, ready to throw it.

The boy from district ten bursts out from a bush and I squeal, chuck the coconut in my hand at his head, and head into the forest at a dead sprint. I weave through green trees, leap over bushes and fallen logs, deep into the green of the tropics. My legs give out from under me and I collapse on the ground. I pull myself to the nearest tree and see that the wound in my thigh has broken open and is bleeding pretty bad. I tie the strip of fabric tighter around it and take the other off my arm and tie it just above the wound in an attempt to staunch the blood flow.

Then I hear the voice, "Eve" I calls to me from behind me

"Eve, I miss you" it's _his_ voice, echoing from the left.

"Eve I want you" Aloe's voice beckons at my right.


	9. Poison

"Baby I need you," his voice circles around me.

I jump up and grab one of the axes from my bag, hate burning in my eyes. I storm through the underbrush out for blood.

Then I hear the cannon. I remember where I am and the power the gamemakers hold. I crouch down and look around at my surroundings, I don't see anything suspicious, but in the hunger games anything can be dangerous. When a sound bursts from the sky I flinch before realizing that it is just the anthem. I look at the sky and see Flicker's face in the sky, then the boy from two, the girl from four, Jupiter, and the girl from eight. Six people left. The capitol seal shines in the sky for a moment then disappears leaving us in silence to await the next arena.

I sit there, breathing heavily, listening for the sound of other tributes or mutts. The gamemakers shouldn't be forcing any fights too soon because it's been a pretty eventful day, five deaths. But who knows they decreased the arena every day, maybe they want a quick paced games this year.

I don't see much so creep slowly towards the glowing arena, expecting another space decrease eventually. I might as well get there early and avoid whatever the gamemakers send to get us there. When I see the golden emblem, I hide by a tree and wait.

Flame runs by alone and I assume the careers have broken up, Titus charges by on all fours like a wild animal hunting its prey. I freeze as I watch Titus overtake Flame, tackling him to the ground and ripping his throat open with his teeth. Flame's cannon sounds and yet again, it seems as if Titus is struck by lighting and he falls to the ground. Flame's body is collected and Titus wakes up. He looks around frantically, searching for his kill, before bounding off into the tropical forest.

I barely notice the sun rising as I stare at the place where Titus just disappeared and the trees around me turn into a forest of bamboo. A cannon fires in the distance. These games certainly are going fast. I walk through the bamboo, enjoying the exotic feel and the coolness of the air around me. I hear something roar near me and turn in all directions to find what it was; I see a large black and white bear, glowing red eyes, and many razor sharp teeth not two feet from my face.

I scream and run, dropping the axe in my hand in the process. I push through the thinner sections of bamboo and dodge the thicker, while the giant mutt behind me barrels through them. I realize all too late that I've reached the edge of the arena as the giant mountain looms before me; I make a sharp turn in attempt at a last getaway from the mutt.

A loud noise echoes behind me and I look back long enough to see that the mutt has run into the mountain. I smile slightly before slowing my run to a quick jog. I halt when I see Anya and Pearl arguing, Anya smiles viciously and her knife imbeds itself in Pearl's chest and she utters a guttural cry before crumpling to the ground. District one smiles in victory, a spear flies through her stomach.

There's three left; me, Titus, and Aloe? I back into the wall of the mountain and look around the bend to see the mutt still there in the same position. Is it dead? I head back that direction slowly, cautious of any movements. The mutt doesn't move, even when I touch its soft fur. I curl up in its body and hope that one of the boys kills the other.

I finish off the rabbit and take out one of my last three axes. I hack out a piece of the bear-mutt and wait for the opportune moment for a fire. If the smoke or fire is visible, Titus is certain to come, and Aloe is a possibility too. I wait for that moment in the evening when the sky is an orange red and light a small fire with the driest stuff I can find to limit the amount of smoke produced. I roast the meat and cover the fire with the blanket to put it out.

I taste the meat, and proclaim it safe, so eat my fill before downing most of my water. The bamboo wavers in front of me, shifting in and out of focus. Black dots float in front of me before I realize that the gamemakers wouldn't make food that easy to find this early in the game and my vision goes black.


	10. Revelation

I open my eyes and corn waves in the slight breeze, darkness covers the sky and a heavy mist lingers over the ground. The giant bear I had been hiding behind has disappeared. Scarecrows line the empty rows of corn. I'm in a maze.

I stand and reach for the axe that I had laid by my side before eating, but it's gone. I grab a fresh one from my bag, leaving me with a blanket, an axe, and a mostly empty water bottle in my bag. I wander through the maze, running into a few dead ends, but I seem to be steadily heading towards the glowing cornucopia. And I can't say I don't wonder if the gamemakers are purposely leading me here, and opening and closing different paths to lead me here.

A human-like figure passes behind me and I turn to view the oncoming threat. A round, sack-cloth face peers out at me from behind a row of corn, a silly grin plastered on its face, but it's no nice grin. I step backwards eyes on the scarecrow as it hobbles towards me. I find my back to the corn and push myself through it, eyes hooked on the mutt in front of me.

I manage to make it through to another isle of the maze but the space between me and the scarecrow has decreased in the process. I look behind me and see a giant, circular open space lined with scarecrows, two entrances open into and out of the area.

I turn back to the scarecrow, but he's stopped and is blocking the way I entered the area. The gamemakers are going to force an end to these games. Aloe enters first and I grip my axe tighter and rush him, one motive in mind.

I jump on top of him wielding my axe, "Hey there, _sweetie_."

I slam my axe down on his hand thrice and sever it from his arm, his cry of pain is like a sweet song to my blood, and I remove the other hand before turning to the feet and severing those two.

My focus is disturbed when a black parachute falls from the sky. I get off him to grab the package; he kicks it with his stump of a foot as I try to grab it. Titus walks through the last remaining entrance at the far end of the circle. I imbed my axe in Aloe's chest and rip it back out before grabbing the package and tearing it open. A small box that reads "pregnancy test" on the label lies within.

Aloe's cannon sounds and the sun rises quickly, the maze around us disappearing. I look to Aloe and tears leap to my eyes. I see Titus's form leaping over the ground towards me, and run in the opposite direction over the now grassy plain towards the mountain ahead.

I turn and run backwards and carefully aim, throwing my second to last axe at him. It hits his shoulder but he keeps coming. He roars. Frankly the sound is frightening. I'm sure they dulled it for the capitol; they couldn't handle something like this. Not with their cushy lives.

But he keeps coming! He doesn't even flinch! Is this guy a robot or something? I pull my final axe from my bag. One more shot at this! I run away keeping towards the edge of the rock face. I hear Titus behind me.

I reach a dead end and turn back. Titus has stopped to listen to something. I listen too. A distant rumbling permeates my ears. I look up at the cliff and see the rocks crumbling towards us. I run as fast as I can away, pushing past Titus and am rewarded with a rock in the back. I fall over from the impact but scramble back up and turn around in time to see the rocks fall on top of Titus, crushing him beneath them. I slowly walk towards the ruins, Titus barely breathing; I raise the axe in my hands, but the cannon sounds before I bring it down.

"Congratulations," I hear Caesar Flickerman's voice sound, "Evelyn Abyss you are the winner of the 54th annual hunger games!"

I fall to the ground exhausted, and start to cry for all the lives lost in this stupid game, for the baby that will grow up without a father (if it's even still alive), for my parents and brother who've had to watch with fear, and for the child that will grow up and be entered in the game the first year she's eligible.

A ladder descends from a hovercraft above me and I touch the ladder once I'm on my body is frozen and the ladder rises into the hovercraft. I find myself surrounded by my prep team, Rae and Jess. I collapse into the chair they provide as they "fix" me. Hair is ripped off again, skin rubbed clean, makeup put on, hair redone. Then I'm standing in front of Rae as she decides what I'm to wear for my final performance.

I find myself in a strapless light pink dress that gives off the slight impression of a baby bump, emphasis on the slight. My hair falls around my face in soft brown curls, with a pink headband. I'm lead to the stage for the final interview before the victory tour. I sit on the chair and wait, Caesar gives me a small smile before we start. I just feel so small right now. So helpless. And not even a kind word or a smile can fix it.


	11. Home

Soon the cameras are rolling then the TV plays out the games all over again. They show all the death scenes, me killing district 12 girl, the deaths of the girl from six, boy from nine, and the boy from eleven by the careers, Aloe killing the boy from twelve, and the death of the eleven girl by Titus, they leave out him eating her I assume because I don't see it. Then they move on to me killing Robin.

Then I view my tousle with the careers, and the girl from three killing the boy from four, Pearl killing the girl from three, the girl from eight stabbing her district partner in the back, and Titus killing the girl from nine. They show Jupiter being attacked by the career hoard and killing the district two boy before dying, the eight girl dying by Titus's hand, and Flicker being overtaken by the metal men and then washed away by the giant wave. They show me chucking a coconut at the district ten boy and the audience laughs.

They show Flame being murdered by Titus and me cowering in the underbrush as Titus tries to eat him, me running away from the bear-mutt, Anya killing Pearl, Aloe killing Anya with a spear, then they show me killing Aloe and I pull my legs up onto the chair with me. They show the avalanche and Titus's death and the recap ends and Caesar turns to me.

"How did you come up with the idea to build a fortress?"

"Caesar," I wipe the tears from my face, "we all know that's not the question all of Panem wants to hear. Besides, I live in district seven it was obvious."

"Ok, what was it like finding out you were pregnant in the arena?"

"Terrifying. The thought that I'd bring a living being into the world only to be killed before it's even considered alive."

"How did you know it was Aloe's?"

"He's the only man I've been with."

"When did you find the time for that?"

I blush, "Well… it was the first day of training and we had dinner and…" I can't continue; I literally can't talk.

Caesar moves on, "and when he died?"

I feel the tears jump to my eyes and then spill over, Caesar hands me a tissue and I wipe my eyes before continuing, "I thought I loved him, he broke my heart. After I killed him, when I found out, I guess I regretted it…"

Caesar ends the interview because they can't get me to stop crying. I change into more comfortable clothes for the train ride home. I sit there and wonder how my family will take the pregnancy. Emmett's always been so over-protective, always screening my boyfriends before we were allowed to go out. And my parents will be a little disappointed, they'll all be shocked, but then, so am I.

The train finally pulls into district seven and I get ready to step onto the station. I clasp the necklace from my brother in my hand and take a deep breath. The entirety of district seven is there cheering me on, I smile and look around for my family. I easily pick Emmett out from the crowd, mom's standing next to him, but I don't see dad anywhere. I walk over to them and am instantly surrounded by Emmett's strong arms, I envelope him in mine and we stand there hugging for all of Panem to see. I turn to my mother and hug her too, whispering in her ear, "where's dad?"

She smiles at me, "he's making furniture for your new home."

I look at her in relief as we head to the town square, cameras following my every move as I go greet the mayor and receive the key to my home in the victor's village. I make a show of unlocking and opening the door, greeting my father and helping him get the furniture inside. The cameramen finally leave for the night and I sit on the couch in my living room.

Emmett sits next to me and pulls something from his pocket, "I know it was hinted at in the games, but I thought you should check to be sure."

He's holding out another pregnancy test and I take it into the bathroom and wait for the result. It says positive. I exit the bathroom slowly and walk over to him; he wraps his arms around me, "if only I'd been there to protect you…"

"You'd be dead," I finish, "Only one victor can come out. I'd rather gain this than lose you." I point to my belly.

He smiles slightly and hugs me again.

I've taken up drawing since I got home, since all victors are required to find a hobby. There are drawings of the Hunger Games, images I can't get out of my head like the scarecrow, Aloe's mangled body, my axe imbedded in Robin's chest, Titus trapped under the rocks of the avalanche, the corn waving in the breeze, the view of Anya and Pearl arguing through the bamboo, the snow falling on the frozen forest, and so much more. Then there are the pictures of home, the forests we work in all day, mom, dad, Emmett, our old home, the forest beyond the 40 foot fence. It has been getting tougher to draw as the pregnancy has developed; the bump gets in the way a lot.

Six months have passed, filled with interviews, celebrations, banquets, holidays, Parcel days, and more. My prep team has shown up from the capitol to prepare me for one last televised event before the Victory Tour. The baby bump gets in the way quite a bit, but I'm still flouncing around my drawing room trying to determine which drawings to show and which to hang on the wall, while they chase me around trying to make me over.

"Evelyn! Get over here! We don't have long until we have to film this and get you to the town square!" Orchid calls, the once white blonde part of her hair now a very pale Orchid, deep purple flowers spidering all over her pale purple skin.

I finally give in and let them pluck my eyebrows, wax my body, scrub me squeaky clean, do my hair and apply my makeup. Rae dresses me in a grey turtle-neck dress and green jewelry and lets Orchid lead me outside to the square.


	12. Victory Tour

I exit the door, cameras trained on my every move, as I walk to the train to head to the victory tour. The entirety of district seven is there yet again and I bid them all goodbye before stepping on the train and leaving my home once again.

When I get on the train to head to the victory tour, I meet Melody and Orchid there. I compliment Orchid on her new appearance changes and she gushes. Rae comes out of one of the doors of the compartment a wide smile on her face, one that reminds me slightly of the scarecrow and I flinch visibly.

She cocks her head and pulls out a rack of clothing; "There's an outfit for each district!" she jumps up and down like an excited puppy. "All the designers helped to make the outfit for their particular district.

Yay, this'll be fun. Some of these designers suck, it's obvious by what they put their tributes in during the chariot rides and the interviews.

"Don't worry; I cleared all the designs before they were allowed to work on them, so you aren't going to be covered in coal or anything!" She giggles like a little girl as I pull on charcoal black pants and a bright green top. We finally make it to district 12 and I give the required speech and leave before I get too emotional. Their female district was my first kill and some seem pretty upset with me.

Rae dresses me in a dark green dress and places a basket of fruit on my head for district 11. In district 10 I'm forced into zebra print pants and a sheer green top with a black tank under it. When we arrive at district 9 I'm wearing a light green, almost yellow, dress with grain braided into my hair. I'm wearing a dress of different green fabrics in district 8.

Rae places me in shiny silver pants, a deep green top, and a silver cabbie hat for district 6, a dress that lights up in infrequent intervals for district 5, and a sea green floor length dress for district 4. I can't look any of the citizens of district 4 in the eye when I get here. All I see is me chopping him to pieces. I'm dressed in a green wire dress in district 3, a shimmery green dress and stone jewelry for district two, and a dress covered in green gems in district one.

Then we return to the capitol, they drop us as the training center, where we will stay on the same floor as before. As I head to my room I pass by Jupiter's, stop and run my hand along the door. I never really knew him, but its sad knowing that I'll never see him again, that he's gone. I get to my room and flop on the bed, waiting for the inevitable moment when Orchid will call me out.

She eventually does, and my prep team touches up my makeup and Rae changes me into a white sundress as I head to the stage for one last interview with Caesar Flickerman. He asks how I feel about being a mentor this year and I lie and say I'm excited, and then I find out the terrible news…

Melody is dead. I'm the only female mentor left for district seven. Until I can ensure that one of my tributes survives I'll have to befriend tributes and then watch them die.

"I take it you two became pretty close then, Miss Abyss?"

"Yeah," I don't even look up at him.

He turns the topic to my pregnancy and I answer those with as much enthusiasm as I can muster until he pops the question I've been waiting for, "So do you know the gender of your baby?"

"I've been waiting for you to ask. I had my doctor send the answer to Rae, my stylist, and she's made a dress that will tell us all the gender of my baby."

"So do you know the gender yet?"

"Nope," I turn to the audience, "would you like to find out with me?"

The audience cheers enthusiastically and a get out of my chair and spin thrice, open my eyes, and look down at my dress. It's a pale pink, the smile on my face widens as I place my hand over my beautiful baby girl. Caesar ends the interview and I head back to the training room. Three months and I'll get to see m beautiful baby.

Rae changes me into a floor length green sequin dress for the party held in President Snow's mansion. When I enter, I stand there in awe for a few minutes taking in the forty-foot ceiling, the table full of food, and the capitol people, decked out in the most outrageous fashions: red hair, green skin, diamonds imbedded in skin, eyes that change colors, cat whiskers, zebra stripes, lounging around in the couches that line the large room. I head to the table of food and am lost in the luxury of it all; I don't even know where to start.

A few dishes and a full stomach later, Blight, one of the district seven mentors comes up to me and asks if I would like to dance. I consent and am soon spinning across the floor between numerous other capitol citizens, each longing for their turn to talk to the newest victor, the newest celebrity.

President Snow never actually makes an entrance, the victor's aren't nearly important enough for him to show up, which isn't bad because I've heard through the grape vine that he's very scary and has the overwhelming odor of blood and roses.

**Don't worry there's more to come! Please Review! :)**


	13. The Odds Are Not in Our Favor

**Ok, I'm doing the entirety of the 72****nd**** games in Eve's POV, tell me what you think. If you really think it would be better in Savvy's POV, PLEASE TELL ME.**

The reapings for the 72nd hunger games are around the corner; my daughter, Savage, has been safe for 17 years. One more year and I won't have to fear for her life. I head to her room, as she grew up she grew out of the pale pink I'd painted it when she was a baby, to wake her up. The room now has deep red walls, white stained furniture, and red and pink accents.

She isn't there, so I head to the training room she demanded I make when she was 8, and find her singing around a battle axe. I have no idea where she got it, and I'm not sure I care to know. I tell her to get ready for the reaping and head downstairs and call Johanna, our only victor since I won. She won last year. When she was first reaped I was fully convinced she'd be the first to die, she cried the instant she realized her name had been called and then proceeded to seem weak throughout the interviews and training, although by that time she'd told me her plan. Even in training she'd showed them very little so that no one would suspect her of being the proficient assassin she is.

"Johanna. It's Eve."

"What," she yawns and I'm guessing I woke her up.

"Reaping. We have to be there."

I've decided that if she's up to it she will coach the tribute this year, and I'll be there to guide her. I'd been taught by some of the guy mentors when I'd started because of Melody's death. Although coaching guys is a lot different than coaching girls.

Savvy comes down the stairs in a royal red, cotton maxi dress, ash blonde hair, like her father's, pulled back in a slick ponytail.

"You look pretty, Savvy," I smile at her.

She looks at me blankly, after seeing what I'd done to her father in my hunger games our relationship hasn't been the same. She never talks to me anymore and she tries to be the exact opposite of me. All I've ever done is love her and try to show her that, but nothing gets through to her.

We wait for Mom, Dad, Emmett, his wife, Patriot, and his 14 year old daughter, Dove, to come down. They've been staying here ever since I won the games, I couldn't stand the thought of them living in one of the shoddy homes further into the district and I had the extra rooms.

Emmett and Patriot come down the stairs behind Dove who's wearing a blue plaid, cotton dress and light blue flats. Her dirty blonde hair is loose. We all walk to the town square and Dove and Savvy head to the specified areas. Emmett, Patriot, Mom, and Dad head to the audience and I wait by the edge of the stage with Blight, Johanna, and Sting, the other district seven mentors.

We wait while Orchid flounces to the stage, "Welcome to the 72nd annual hunger games!" she seems genuinely happy about this. You'd think that someone so close to the hunger games, someone who might know what actually goes on might be more solemn about it, but I guess not.

She walks up to the ladies' ball, purple hair bouncing behind her and I bite my lip in anticipation, two of my loved ones are in that ball.

"Dove Abyss" Orchid looks straight at me as she says this. Dove steps up onto the stage, when I look at Emmett and Patriot their horrified faces reflect exactly what I had been dreading for my own daughter. Dove however, looks pretty confident in herself; she's trained a bit with Savvy.

"Do we have any volunteers?" Orchid looks around, and then we all see a girl with blonde hair wearing a red dress step out of the eighteen-year old section.

"I volunteer," my beloved Savage steps up and I scream in protest. She doesn't realize how hard I've worked to keep her out of the games, the sacrifices I've made to keep her alive, how much I love her.

"And what's your name dear?"

"Savage Abyss," I can practically hear the audience in the capitol gasping and crying out that, "The odds are not in that family's favor." Orchid smiles at me sadly as she heads to the boys' ball.

"Scout Archer," a young boy steps from the 13 year old section and takes his place on the stage. They shake hands, Savvy's grip leaving a red handprint on Scout's skin, and then the cameras show the mentors for this year and we smile and wave before they turn the attention back to the stage and proceed to the anthem and the history and all that jazz.

They lead the tributes to the justice building and Johanna pulls me aside, "They want to prostitute me Eve. What do I do?"

"What can you do? Let them, trust me you barely notice it after a while, although the constant changes they make to your body do get irritating."

She storms away before letting me finish, what did she want me to tell her? That nothing would happen if she refused? If they want it they're going to get it, end of discussion.

I head to the Justice Building in time to get in with Emmett, Patriot, Dove, Mom and Dad. Dove hugs her tightly and Savvy pushes her off, "I didn't do this for you twerp. If someone else had been reaped I still would've volunteered."

"Savage! Be nice to your cousin!"

"Oh I'm sorry, nice like you were with my father?"

"Savvy, please. We just love you," Dad wraps his arm around her shoulder, and she lets him.

"Savage, I want you to take this with you, as your token," I hand her the necklace I'd gotten from Emmett nearly 20 years earlier, I glance at Emmett and he nods.

She sighs and places it around her neck, "will you go now?"

She looks at us expectantly, so we exit the room and glimpse five of her friends waiting outside. I can tell they're inside when I hear squealing and crying. I brush away the tears collecting in the corners of my eyes and walk to the train, hugging my family goodbye and waiting in one of the chairs in the dining car for the daughter who hates me.


	14. Not Like You

"Savage! Stop ignoring me! We have to work on your strategy."

"I have a strategy, _Mom_."

"Then tell it to me. We have to work together on this!"

She glares at me; it's a look that sends shivers down my spine, which doesn't happen a lot due to my time in the Hunger Games. "I'm joining the careers."

"What!" Johanna looks up from her spot at the table.

"Honey," I reach for her hand but she pulls it away, "why don't you try something simpler, like Johanna and I did."

"I'm not like you mom! Stop trying to make me be like you! I never will!"

"Fine! If you want to be stabbed in the back by a group of coldblooded murderers then be my guest!" I storm out of the room. Why can't she see that the simpler plans work better for the lesser districts? Why can't she see that they'll turn on her at the slightest opportunity because she'll be a threat? I lay on the soft bed.

The telephone in my room rings, "Hello?"

"Miss Abyss?"

"Yeah?"

"It's Kismet. You have seven reservations set up so contact me when you get to the capitol. You're all the rage every time the hunger games start up. Oh, and see if you can't persuade your friends to join us, or we'll have to."

"Ok, thanks Kismet," I sink onto my bed as reality hits me. Once we get into the capitol I'll have two jobs, one keeping my daughter alive, another pleasing the men in the capitol.

Too soon the feint sound of cheering hits my ears and I look out the window, capitol citizens are gathered around the train, waiting for a glimpse of this year's tributes. I wave, and some of the capitoleans point at me excitedly and babble to their friends.

We get off the train and I let Orchid lead Savage upstairs while I attend to some business. I hop in a cab and head to The Pink Flamingo, a giant mansion, painted a bright shade of pink, owned by Kismet. I walk in the back door and head to his office.

His gold skin shines under the dim lighting of his office, his black eyes shine when he sees me standing in the doorway "Evelyn! It's so great to see you darling! Come! You need more alterations!" His long black hair streams in the breeze he creates walking down the hallway.

I follow him to a sterile white room where yet another prep team waits. I lay on the pad and they adhere a breathing device to my face and I'm soon swimming in my old dreams. Only this time the dreams aren't just my hunger games, my daughter is present in them too.

I'm finally able to awake from the nightmares and I look into the mirror filling the entire wall, my face is smoother and looks younger, my hair is a deeper, livelier shade of brown, and there are small diamonds imbedded in the skin around my nipples.

"What are these?" I point to the shiny rocks protruding from my breasts.

"Diamonds implanted in skin is all the rage now, darling! I thought I'd amp it up a little. Don't worry, your customers will love it. First one's after the chariot rides. Did you happen to convince Johanna to join us?"

"I didn't have the opportunity to talk to her."

"Do it soon. If she doesn't listen to you by tonight, I'll be the one persuading her, and President Snow backs me one-hundred percent."

"I got it. I'll see you tonight Kismet."

"Toodles, darling!"

I leave the dim mansion and take a cab back in time to check on Savvy and Rae. I pop my head in the door and see Rae struggling to get Savvy to let her put her in a tree costume.

"Get in the stupid costume!" Rae continues to struggle even as the Prep team steps in to help, "Your mother was never this difficult!"

"Well, I'm not my mother!" She stands behind the chair practically growling at her prep team as they try to dress her for the chariot ride.

"Exactly," I walk into the room and look at her, "that's why she's not dressing you as a lumberjack."

Savvy sneers at me, "I'm not wearing that thing!"

I step over to Rae and whisper in her ear, "get a green dress and have the prep team put leaves in her hair."

She straightens, "I have just the thing!" she hurries out of the room and the prep team gets to work on gluing leaves in her hair. Rae returns with a deep grey almost sheer dress with bright green leaf prints on it. Savage willingly puts this on and heads out the door to the chariot. I follow behind her and see that her district partner is dressed in a brown tube with a green leafy hat.

"Is that what you were going to put Savvy in?"

"Oh no, mine looked much more sophisticated than that!" she holds up a brown jumpsuit and a handful of leaves. "I was going to use the dress she's in now for the interviews. I guess I need something new then."

"Make something that screams savage," I make claws with my hands and screw up my face, she bursts out in laughter, purple hair quivering.

I head back to the training room to watch the chariot rides and wait for the tributes. All the elevators are in use when I get there, so I wait for one to get back down before I can get up to our floor. By the time I enter the living room seven is already on the screen and I see savage waving at the audience; she really does act like a career, she blows kisses to the crows and everything.

The telephone rings and I have to jump up to grab it, "hello?"

"Darling, it's Kismet. Your daughter is fantastic. If she wins these games we might be able to replace you! Ooh! Or we could sell you as a package! Have you talked to Johanna yet? All the men are asking when she'll be here."

"Hold on," I set the phone down and pull Johanna off the couch into the hallway, "Johanna you have to see reason, there's so much they could do to you if you don't join willingly. You don't know the extent of their desire."

"I'm not being their plaything again."

"Fine! But you've been warned, they will be coming after you." I head back to the living room and pick up the phone, "Kismet? I'm sorry, she's adamant. She doesn't want in."

A long beep reaches my ears, Kismet's hung up. This'll be a fun night. Kismet lets in extra customers when he's grumpy, as if more money will change his mood or something."

I watch the last few chariot rides, head down the elevator, and catch a cab to the Pink Flamingo.


	15. Hurt

**A/N: I'm sorry, I kind of forgot this was rated T. Don't worry I'll keep it T.**

Kismet throws sheer black lingerie at me and I change and head up to my room to await tonight's designated round of customers. I lie on my side on the bed and wait for the first man… or woman. After a tall man with electric blue hair and navy skin saunters in, he ogles my breasts through the short dress, "Are those real?"

I bite my lip seductively, "Why don't you come find out, babe."

When the last of my clients have left, I climb into my own clothes and head down the stairs to the back entrance through Kismet's office.

"You really should have persuaded Miss Johanna to join us," he grins, I see the malice in his eyes, and fear grips me; Johanna won't get out of this unscathed.

I leave the building and enter the nearest bright yellow cab, the driver asks for my autograph when she realizes who I am and I sign the dirty napkin she hands me absentmindedly. Although I was ecstatic to make it out of the hunger games alive, I would've been much happier had I died. Once you go into the hunger games you never come out of them. You're always just a piece in the capitol's games, another pawn, another soldier marching into an unwinnable battle, like the one that left us in our districts desperately searching for escape from the unending despair.

Tears kiss my cheeks, kisses much more tender and beloved than any coming from a capitol man seeking pleasure in the arms of a hunger games whore. Silently slipping through the hallways of the Training Center I make it to our floor unobserved, I wipe my eyes in the elevator but nothing can mask the anguish marring my face as I enter the living room to watch the reruns of the chariot rides like a good mentor.

"You've seriously been crying?" Savvy scoffs at me as I hide the folds of a soft cashmere blanket, "Thanks for having no faith in me you backstabbing, worthless, bitch!"

Orchid pulls me to my feet and into the room I share with Johanna as a mentor. She sits me on one of the two twin sized beds replacing the usual single queen bed and plunks down next to me.

"What happened to you?" She touches my hand and I flinch away from her. I stare at my toes is if it will save me from her stare and make me invisible. She bends down so that her face is between me and my feet, a look in her eyes that I never seen on a capitolean before, the look a mother would give her daughter.

And even with that sweet, considerate gaze, I cannot bring myself to reveal the truth to her, I can't spill the very essence of my being out to a person I've known for years as a friend and a sister and it hurts. It hurts to know that she'll think I don't trust her, and that I can't tell someone my plight. But she wouldn't get it. She never could, because she's from the capitol and she doesn't face their wrath. She eventually leaves the room and I fall back on the bed, staring at the stark white ceiling until sleep takes me.

The next morning I head down to breakfast fully recovered from my… episode. I grab food from the table that lines the wall and wait for Savvy to come downstairs. Scout's already at another table with his mentor Blight. Johanna and I sit in silence as Orchid and Rae blather on about some capitol trend or something.

"He was dressed so nerdy! He wore a chartreuse shirt and corduroy pants! Chartruse! It's so seven months ago!"

"And corduroy! Blech! No one's worn that since the 58th games!"

Savvy finally emerges in tight black shorts and a black tank top, hair pulled into a messy bun, and black makeup ringing her eyes; she really looks savage. She looks around the room and her eyes land on me, a condescending glimmer in her eye. She stalks to the table, sits, and leans back in the chair leisurely.

"Don't tell me what to do. I won't listen."

"Would you listen to Johanna?"

"Not while you're here."

I take my food and head back to the living room to eat. I turn on the tv and wait for the start of the broadcasting of training. I sit for a while munching on bread and a rich, creamy, lightly spiced gravy. The commercials for odd products finally ends and Caesar Flickerman's voice can be heard announcing which tributes are which and what they're doing. I catch glimpses of her messy blonde bun bouncing around with the careers and teaching each other their favorite weapons and methods of killing. None of them touch the survival skills, only the weapons, and they move in a pack, and partnering with them is bound to get you a knife in the back… or a sword, or a spear, or a trident, or an arrow. I watch her converse with the other careers as she flicks axes towards targets and corrects the techniques of the others. I look at the weapons amassed on the tables and in stands, none of them is a battle axe, meaning there won't be any in the private sessions.

Maybe I can do something about that. I've used my body before to keep my daughter alive. I joined the ladies at the Pink Flamingo to keep Capitol hands off my daughter, she won't die now. I walk down to the lowest floor and find the door that no tribute has ever entered and wait for a gamemaker to walk out to go to the bathroom. I pull my shirt lower, puff my chest out, and lean against the wall to wait.

Maybe I've missed them. Maybe they don't' have to use the restrooms. Maybe there are restroom in the room so they don't have to come out. The door begins to open, President Snow doesn't watch these does he? A tall man, skin dyed black with silver tatoos and hair, wearing a gamemaker badge walks out, I immediately flip on the switch that turns off my emotions and turns on men.

"Hey," I purr.

"Hi?"

"If I needed a certain weapon available for my tribute for the private sessions, who would I talk to about that?" I place my hand on his chest and bat my eyes.

He pushes me away and walks to the bathroom, but not before I stuck my card in his breastpocket, scented and describing exactly where he can find me at the Pink Flamingo.


	16. A Meal

My night at the Pink Flamingo is normal, no sexy black man with sparkling silver hair, just the normal lot of crazy capitoleans looking for relief.

When all the hungry men are finally gone, I enter the Training Center in the early hours of the morning, take the elevator up to the seventh floor and slip into the sleeping penthouse. I creep into my room desperately hoping Johanna stays asleep, but the light is on and Johanna is curled up on the bed with tissues surrounding her.

"Johanna? Are you alright?"

"No! They killed them!" she glares at me, "Killed them all! I have no one left." She falls back on the bed and closes her eyes, "Just go away."

I slink from the room and lie on the red couch in the living area. Its soft fabric brushes against my skin lightly and caresses me into a peaceful sleep.

I wake up later than I normally would, Johanna and I assume Savvy are already downstairs talking strategy. I press a few buttons on the panel on the wall to get some food, the same biscuits and gravy I had yesterday, turn on the TV and watch the training sessions.

Savage is with Carnage and Titanium from district one, Bandit and Acid from district two, and Cobra and Silver from four. They're laughing and joking around now, no longer trying to scare the other competitors like yesterday. Cobra, Acid, and Savvy head to a station with less widely used weapons. Cobra picks up a weapon with a blade that curves, a scythe, and shows the two girls a few tricks. Savvy picks one up, grins, and swings it around a bit before resting it against the throat of the girl from nine, Amber. She freaks out but can't get away because she enclosed in a circle composed of Savvy and the blade.

Savvy steps away and I can practically hear the glee and malice dripping from her voice, "Jeez, I was just joking." The girl sprints away in a wave of rippling pale brown hair, and the three careers laugh rapturously.

Careers. I cannot believe I'm using that word to describe my daughter. The careers are the ones who have haunted my dreams in the years since my games. Each new group is somehow incorporated into my nightmares, although the careers from my games still linger. A chill runs down my spine and shudder, will my daughter enter my dreams? A new nightmare?

I continue watching as they experiment with other weapons. Carnage, Bandit, and Silver spread out and work to intimidate as many of the young, terrified tributes as they can, and they succeed. Any time a career nears in proximity to another tribute that tribute runs to another station and the careers bursts out into laughter. I don't remember them being quite this into intimidating during my games.

When I see my daughter, MY BABY, terrorizing the twelve year old girl from twelve, Tuli, I run from the room. She was never an angel but she was never a bully either. I order a mug of hot chocolate from the buttons on the wall and calm myself before deciding to instead busy myself with getting my daughter what she needs to survive. I have the perfect plan.

I wait until the training sessions are about to end before heading down to the door I was at yesterday. Yesterday was a bust, but today I'm not going in blind. I stand further from the door than I was yesterday and wait for the perfect victim. They begin exiting and I inspect each one, no he has a ring, that's a female, too stylish, he's sexy and he knows it… There! The one in the brown corduroy pants. I approach him as he heads for the door.

"I have a favor to ask and I'm willing to do anything to get it."

"Uh…" he pushes his black rimmed glasses up his nose, "what do you need?"

"I need my tribute to survive. If you can help me with that meet me at the Pink Flamingo at 10."

"No! Come with me. I have a more… private place." He holds his arm out and I take it, anything to keep her alive, even a nerdy man like this.

We hop in a black car sitting outside the building and head to what I assume is his apartment. He leads me up to one of the highest floors and opens the door to his bedroom. He throws me onto his bed and pulls my clothes off impatiently. He runs his hands over my body as I pull at his clothes, and he's stiff as a board by the time he's fully disrobed.

I let him do with me as he wishes, everything he wishes, before departing, a deep red robe covering me.

I race back to the Training Center and into my room to change into regular clothes and slow my heartbeat before anyone else comes upstairs. I make it to the dining room for dinner and find everyone seated and talking heartily.

When I enter, Savvy looks up a me, "Wow mom, thanks for sticking around and helping me with the games that could kill me!" Sarcasm is oozing from her words, burning holes in my heart.

"But…" I look around at the people in the room and decide it's a conversation for another day. I sit in my seat at the table and pile my plate with food before moving it around my plate absently. I thought she wanted me to stay out of her way. Maybe she found out I did interfere? I don't know.

Looking around the table, I realize Johanna has fully recovered from her meltdown yesterday. She's hard and unapproachable, just like the Johanna I knew two days ago. Except, this Johanna won't look me in the eye. Is she mad at me for what happened? Why did she think I joined the damn whore house? Because I like having random capitol fools ravage me each night?

I leave the table without eating a bite, and head down to ground level. By now it's time to go to the Pink Flamingo anyway, so I catch a cab over and let Kismet throw another skimpy outfit at me before heading upstairs for tonight's round of swine.

An emptiness I hadn't felt since I saw Aloe and Robin in the elevator fills my stomach as the night wears on, and I continue to let a guise of pleasure earn Kismet and whoever else is involved in the business a hefty sum.

I decide to sleep there tonight, I'm not wanted or needed in the training center anyway. I awake halfway through a nightmare of scarecrows with scythes and hungry careers. A lumpy, heavy Kismet is sitting on my naked body, sweating onto my bare skin, as he too takes what he wants. I will always just be a meal for desperate Capitoleans and furious careers.


	17. Nightmares

**I want to thank all of you for sticking with my story; every favorite, alert and review means the world to me; and I'm sorry I can't get chapters out to you sooner.**

I take a cab back to the Training Center, the smell of sex and sweat still clinging to my skin and hair. I jump in the shower to relieve myself of the memories, dress, and head downstairs.

"Hey Savvy," I pull out the chair next to her and sit, for once she doesn't scoot away.

"Where were you last night?" she implores.

"Nowhere important," I look down when I catch Johanna looking at me. "So what's your plan for the Private Sessions?"

"To get an eight or better."

I laugh softly, "I don't mean what you want to get. What are you going to do to impress them?"

"The usual, I'll fight with a battleaxe."

I smile at her, happy for the first time in a while. Things might actually be looking up, I got a gamemaker to promise Savvy's safety, she's finally talking to me, I don't have to work tomorrow because we have interviews; what more do I need?

She heads out of the loft to the elevator and waves goodbye before heading down to her private session, her blonde hair obscured from view. I sit in the living room and turn on the television to watch Caesar Flickerman talk about each of the tributes. He blathers on about their performances during the chariot rides, their reapings, what we've seen from them in training, and even shows us recaps, replaying videos of their training and such.

As I fiddlewith my brown hair and stare at the screen, something catches my eye, the girl from district eight, Velvet. Her name and looks are about right for her district, she's small, 12, acts frightened. But that's the keyword: acts. I've been mentoring children for 17 years now and been giving them strategies. One that's become increasingly easy to detect since I mentored Johanna , faking weakness.

During her reapings she seems to cry but if you look closely you can see a slight smile on her lips before she covers her face with her hands and "sobs." Then during the chariot rides her angle is to again appear weak and frightened, but when the chariot hits a bump and her district partner bumps into her, she glares at him and he's suddenly thrust away from her a terrified expression on his face. Something you wouldn't notice when all eyes are glued to the fantastic costumes of the other charioteers. During training nothing strikes me as suspicious, actually, she isn't in the footage much.

I make a mental note to tell Savvy when she returns from her private session. Soon my eyelids become too heavy for me to handle, too droopy for me to keep open, and I let them fall closed.

A finger prods me into wakefulness and I see Savvy standing over me, "Scores are going up soon!" she chimes. I rub the sleepiness out of my eyes and turn up the volume on the TV. She flops down beside me, and we wait for Scout, Orchid, Blight, and Johanna, and the beginning of scoring.

The capitol seal flashes across the screen just as the last of our group makes their way to the couch. The scores go in district order, boys then girls. District one: Carnage-9, Titanium-10, District two: Bandit-8, Acid-7, District 3: Diodes-5, Pixel-3, District 4: Cobra-9, Silverspear-8, District 5: diesel-4, Generator-2, District 6: Freighttrain-6, Sky-3.

District seven comes up on the screen and Savage grips my arm, cutting off circulation as we wait for her score, Scout-6, Savage-2. Savage screams in outrage and throws a vase at the television. The vase shatters, but the TV remains intact. "I don't deserve that! I did better than that!"

"Savvy, tell me what happened," I touch her arm gently but she shrugs it off.

"I checked the weapons but they didn't have a battleaxe. You know I'm no good with axes, so I used a scythe. I learned how to use one during training, I thought I did pretty good. I beat three trainers."

District 8: Muslin-4, Velvet-1, District 9: Buck-8, Amber-5, District 10: Devon-6, Tuli-2, District 11: Bark-2, Wisteria-7, District 12: Hilt-4, Charcoal-2.

"Maybe they're trying to ruin your alliance. Maybe they think you're too good. Maybe they're intimidated," maybe they're trying to protect you, "Who knows? Make it work, Savage."

Her eyes narrow at the screen as the capitol seal once again flashes across the screen, then she storms to her room and slams the door. I run my hand along the door as I pass her room before heading to the Pink Flamingo.

I don't even care about the men who come to my room today, I don't even notice them, I'm thinking of my daughter and the score she received. When I return she's still in her room and Blight and Scout are in the dining room whispering silently.

I walk past to the room I share with Johanna and slip beneath the covers of the bed that's been mine for years. Something scratches at the edges of my mind, begging me to remember something. Something I can't quite recall. I scribble on a paper late into the night trying to bring about some sense from the words swimming in my head. The black inked words fill the page and overlap many times over before I fall asleep.

"Eve!" I jump up suddenly as the sound of my name reaches my ears, "What you have a love of scarecrows or something?" She holds the worn piece of paper in front of me.

Indeed there's a scarecrow with a creepy smile made entirely of written words. I grab the paper from her, fold it up and shove it under the mattress. Before I can get her to leave the room, Johanna pulls up my mattress and finds the dozens of nightmares that have haunted me over the years.

"Someone's sentimental," the sarcasm in her voice is sharp and judgemental.

"You've been through the games you should know how it is," I murmur so softly she barely hears. She picks up a drawing and studies it.

"These are capitol men. So you don't like being a whore after all. You had me fooled." Her sadistic smile stares me blatantly in the face, taunting me. I pick up another drawing and shove it at her. She remains silent and I know that her being one of my nightmares has actually struck a note with her.

I pull a drawing pad from my bedside and leave the room. It's blue and has a giant "S" on it. I sit on one of the soft, luxurious couches that command the room and flip to the first page.

**If you were wondering, yes all the tributes (except the careers and district 7) have names pertaining to their district. This is so that it's easier for you to know who is who. If you look up any of those names you'll find something pertaining to their district.**


	18. Sketch

_I flip the small blue sketchbook open to reveal a drawing of a young baby, with wide blue eyes and a sweet smile, her blonde hair is pulled into pigtails on her head and she's running her hands through the numerous journals filled with pencil, charcoal, and conte crayon drawings…_

I follow Savvy to the living room so Johanna and I can help her with her angle for the interviews and aid her with her stage presence.

"Do you know what my interview outfit is?" she leans onto her toes expectantly as she awaits an answer.

"I don't know specifics, but it's supposed to be something savage."

Savvy grins wickedly, "well I guess we know my angle then." A malicious glint sparkles in her eye and I flinch away instinctively. She eyes me and cocks her head to the side.

"Looks like you don't need much practice. I don't think you'll run into any problems because of your training score."

"Don't talk about my training score!" As she shouts at me I shrink into the couch cushions as if it could save me, then she cracks up laughing and I smile with her.

…_the next page houses a toddler grinning from ear to ear, her hair's pulled back in a loose braid, and her tiny fingers grip her first axe as dozens of trees stretch back in the expanse of land behind her…_

She leaves to meet with Orchid and Scout as they learn how to act onstage and, for Savvy at least, how to walk in heels in a long dress. She twirls and feigns enthusiasm, although none of these will be utilized in her angle.

_The next page reveals a soft drawing of a young girl, axe swishing through the air, as she readies herself for the possible reapings in a few years._

She heads down to the remake center to be made over and dressed up, I peak through the door as they're applying her makeup, dark greys and blacks rim her eyes, casting shadows over her face and giving her a wild, feral look.

_The subsequent drawing pictures a young teen scowling as she wields a sharp battleaxe, after reaching her twelfth year, discovering the circumstances regarding her father and his death, and seeing the rerun of my games._

I take my seat with the other mentors and stylists in the audience and watch Caesar entertain the audience as we await the entrance of the tributes. They finally enter and take their seats around the stage before the first interview starts.

_After that is a drawing of her walking up to the stage in the center of district seven in a long red maxi dress, then her in a chariot riding around the capitol in a sheer leafy dress…_

As the first tribute takes a seat next to Caesar, I pull the blue drawing pad and a sharp pencil out of my bag and allow my hand to drift over the page as I watch the interviews.

District one: Titanium wears a misty grey dress, brown hair pooling over her shoulders, and reveals little of who she is; Carnage wears a pink t-shirt and black slacks and flirts with the audience, winning quite a few cheers from the capitol ladies. District two: Acid wears a really short purple dress and acts seductively; Bandit wears an all black suit and remains totally silent a deadly glare plastered on his face. District three: Pixel wears a pink dress and just seems to answer the questions truthfully; Diodes answers everything with long words and complicated sentences.

District Four: Silver, wearing a long aqua dress with wire in the bottom making it wavy at the bottom, jokes around with Caesar and the audience; Cobra wears no shirt and a pair of grey slacks and fiddles with a fake knife the entire interview. District Five: Gen (Generator) wears a bright yellow dress reminiscent of a taxi cab, and is bright and bubbly; Diesel wears a light grey suit and a yellow shirt beneath and talks monotonously with little inflection whatsoever. District Six: Sky wears an orange top and a pink tweed skirt; Freighttrain wears a black tank and pinstripe slacks, and shows of his apparent strength.

Savvy walks onstage to begin her interview with Caesar and I compare my nearly finished drawing with the girl sitting onstage a malevolent smile splayed across her face.

_The girl on the page wears a short black crinoline dress with a corset top and tall strappy heels, her blonde hair is teased and wild around her face, her eyes highlighted by the dark makeup._

"So, Savage, why did you volunteer for the games? We're all curious."

"Well, it wasn't because she's family if that's what you were wondering." She cocks her head to the side and smirks, "I wanted to be in the games."

"Do you think you can win after receiving a score of two during private sessions?"

"Caesar, it's not my fault they don't have battleaxes during private sessions. Don't worry there'll be blood in these games, and it won't be mine."

**Tell me what you think of this chapter. I did it a little different, but I thought it was fun (to write at least). If it's annoying to read please tell me!**


	19. Talking Strategy

Savvy leaves the stage after a few more minutes of back-and-forth with Caesar. District Eight: Velvet wears a fluffy white dress that makes her seem incredibly innocent and answers every question meekly; Muslin wears a stripy blue button-up and khaki slacks and fails at acting cocky. District Nine: Amber wears a dress that glistens like corn hair, glowing yellow under the bright stage lights, she acts peppy and excited; Buck wears a red plaid shirt, dark wash jeans, and acts sadistic and sarcastic.

District Ten: Tuli wears a light pink dress and plays the happy-go-lucky, little girl; Devon wears a red button up, grey slacks, a cowboy hat, and acts friendly. District Eleven: Wisteria wears an orange dress reminiscent of an upside-down flower and plays the cute with a secret; Bark wears a sky blue shirt and navy slacks, he's shy and I can barely hear his answers. District Twelve: Char wears a sparkly grey gown and tries to act fierce but is too scared and her vicious rehearsed lines fall flat; Hilt wears all grey and nearly cries when Caesar asks him about his family.

We leave for the training center and take the elevator up to our floor as a group. We eat in relative silence as reality hits us like waves crashing against a cliff, and all cheer hibernates like a bear during the cold season.

The food on Savvy's plate remains untouched as dinner proceeds sluggishly. She fiddles with her fork as she stares into space. Her chair suddenly rockets backwards as she dashes to the elevator and disappears through the door the second it opens. I scramble to the closing door, too late, the force of the hard metal throwing me back against the floor. I wait for the conveyor to return, jump inside and try to find her.

I rise to the topmost floor and look around the potted plants, their green leaves billowing in the breeze, and find nothing but nightmares lurking in the shadows. I return to the elevator and head to the training level. I look through the darkness and see the door to the gymnasium closing against the far wall and step through the gloom towards it.

Opening the door a crack I see the careers sitting in a circle whispering amongst themselves as Savvy joins them.

"Hey Savage," the Silver pipes up sunny blonde hair glimmering in the dim lighting. They all stand up and head to their favorite stations. Savvy looks around for a minute before once again heading to the scythe station. In an instant I can see why she got a two from private sessions, she doesn't have to speed to use a scythe and the boy from four once again resolves to help her and she improves a tad before abandoning the instrument and heading to one of the obstacle courses.

I wait in the living room for her to return and end up staying up till three in the morning and falling asleep before she gets back. The bell signaling the return of the elevator awakens me and I look over the couch to find her entering the floor with the dark haired Cobra following her. She's going to make the same mistake I did. I hide behind the couch again as they pass, unable to gather the strength to stop her.

In the morning I creep into her room and find her slumbering alone. I shake her awake, "Savvy, we need to talk."

"What?" she murmurs turning to the side and resting her head on her hand.

"That boy you brought in yesterday, Cobra, what did you two do?"

She sits upright in her bed, "Mom! I'm not you!"

"So what were you doing?"

" We were talking strategy away from the rest of the careers," She jumps off her bed, "I have to get down to Rae for launch.

I sigh and head down to headquarters. Capitoleans looking for tributes to sponsor wait in the lobby and I get ready to procure sponsors. I talk to groups and singles detailing Savvy's proficiency with battleaxes and her extensive training in our home in the victors' village while persuading them of her prospects in the game. It's always easier to obtain necessary items early in the games, as the prices rise as the games progress. I finally manage to gather what I require to get her a battleaxe, minus a couple hundred that I should receive once she makes it past the bloodbath, and head to the control room.

Walking through the giant glass door I scan the twenty-four stations and see only a few other mentors already down here. I head to my station, a large wooden structure with a glass window that reflects the vitals of my tribute and the available sponsor gifts, their prices, and how much I have. To the left and right are screens that will show a map of the arena with her position and show the camera view of her and her group with a live feed of their conversations.

At the front of the room full of stations a giant screen shows the vitals of all the tributes and the current feed of the games being shown to all of Panem.

I leave the squishy office chair in favor of the plush couch they provide each of the mentors for sleeping. An alarm will sound if I'm on the couch and a threat is within twenty yards of my tribute or the games start.


	20. Nothing is Harmless

The repetitive fanfare of the alarm stirs me from my slumber and I bolt upright as realization that the games are starting dawns on me. I sit in the squishy, black office chair and read the note taped to the screen.

"_I'll be back to take my shift at 10pm. I hid the list under the couch. –Johanna"_

I peek under the small blue couch and pull a folded piece of paper from the underside of the couch.

"_From Savvy's position before the gift is delivered…_

_1 lemon = 1 enemy to Savvy's left_

_1 radish = 1 enemy to her right_

_1 fig =1 enemy in front of her_

_1 blueberry = 1 enemy behind her_

_Strawberries = enemies surrounding her_

_If in between these directions send the two it's between._

_-Johanna"_

Technically this is cheating, but I tape the paper under the desk, to make it easy to find and reach in a hurry, anyway. Then I look to the screens and see all the tributes standing precariously on their launch plates as they wait for the end of the sixty second countdown. Savvy motions to some of the other careers and they nod in accordance and motion in return.

On the launch pads beside Savvy are the boy from 11, Bark, and the girl from 6, Sky. All the tributes are wearing tan pants that lace up the sides, loose blue tunics, and thin green slippers. The arena around them is a small town of stone cottages surrounded by fields and herds of animals. People in medieval garb waltz through the town seemingly harmless, but this is the hunger games, nothing is harmless.

The gong sounds and Sky rockets off her plate into the town without touching the cornucopia or its bountiful contents. Savvy shifts to her right and her fist slams into Barks throat knocking him to the ground. She grabs the nearest item to them, a skillet, and slams it into his face before running into the fray hitting more people with her frying pan, though not as lethally.

She makes it to the cornucopia with the rest of the careers and they work to keep the tributes off the supplies, killing or wounding those they can and scaring the rest off. They gather all the outlying supplies into the pile inside the cornucopia as they work to defend their bounty. A few tributes manage to get through, Buck wounds Acid from district two and manages to snag supplies, including a sharp sword; Velvet runs by when the careers are distracted and grabs an armload of weapons and a backpack filled with food (she checked the bags) and runs.

Savvy sticks to her pan as we wait out the bloodbath. As the last of the tributes try to steal supplies she grins maliciously and strikes out with her weapon. A male tribute falls; she flips over his body and laughs as she realizes it's her district partner.

A cry rises from inside the cornucopia echoing out from within and growing louder. Savage turns around and runs into the cornucopia, she reemerges from the depths carrying Acid whose wound from Buck is troubling her deeply. I look towards the monitor in the front and see her vitals failing. She soon turns limp in Savvy's arms and savvy lies her with the other dead tributes before walking back to the cornucopia.

"Come on," she motions to the others, "The sooner we organize and protect this shit, the sooner we can find _Buck_." She practically spits his name in anger.

After the incident with Bark and the punch to the throat, money from sponsors peaked and I instantly had enough to get the battleaxe, but I have to wait until after the cannons to deliver any gifts. As soon as the remainder of the non-career tributes leave the area, the cannon sounds nine times signaling the death of Acid from two, Diesel from five, Muslin from eight, Amber from nine, Devon from ten, Bark from eleven, both from twelve. Six careers left, nine other live tributes and nine dead.

I reach across to the glass screen and flick through the list of items find the one I need and tap it twice. It lights up green for a moment before turning grey again. Though the monitor I see a long black box falling gently though the air with a green seven plastered to the black parachute that keeps it from plummeting to the ground.

She leaps towards it and opens the box eagerly, pulling out the shiny new battleaxe with a grin spread across her face. She lifts it and swings it around to test the weight and balance as the careers watch.

They turn back to their supplies decide what they need and what they don't. Once they have a pile of crates filled with food, weapons and items for sleeping and building fires, they shove it in the back of the cornucopia and seal up the entrance with a configuration of wires with sharp barbs. They leave Titanium and Silver behind to guard the stash.

The remainder of the group heads out into the maze of buildings in search of the tribute that killed their partner. I scan the map Pixel and Diesel from three and Gen from five are wandering the town together, Freightrain and sky from 6 and Tuli from 10 are on top of one of the roofs, Velvet from 8 and Wisteria from eleven are walking around the fields and Buck from nine is…


	21. Blood Lickers

**Sorry! I meant to update yesterday, but I got distracted by a boy and a movie.**

A small black parachute with a green number floats down. Savvy grabs the parachute and opens the little black box, finding a single item inside. A blueberry. Her brows furrow for a moment as she recalls the code she and Johanna made, then she whips around and sees Buck standing a few feet from them, dark hair nearly covering his eyes, a long shiny sword with a little dried blood on the end in his hand.

Savvy grins before leaping towards him as the dance between two warriors begins. Both manage a few nicks but manage to stay wary enough to know when to dodge. The remainder of the careers stand in a circle around him, enthralled by the battle and waiting for a signal of distress from the blonde bouncing around inside.

A faint whistling permeates the air around them, barely louder than a whisper and unheard over the sound of the fighting tributes. An arrow pierces the shoulder of the blonde.

I jump out my seat as the rest of the careers surround her and look around them. Buck just escapes through the distracted careers and careens through the busy streets. Unable to find the source of the arrow, which happens to be on a rooftop four houses away, they turn to Savvy and attempt to attend to her wound.

At the sight of the blood pooling onto the pavestones, the "villagers" leap into action. Their eyes glow red, their nails lengthen to points, their teeth sharpen, and they smile viciously. The careers soon realize that the villagers are no longer normal as the mutts close in on them.

Cobra, the career from four, lifts Savage onto his shoulder and runs through the mass of bodies enclosing them towards their camp. When he reaches the cornucopia, he throws her on top before climbing up next to her. He pulls the rest of the careers up as they arrive and they wait out the attack .

I check the price of capitol medicine for deep injuries and realize I need more sponsor points. I pick up my phone as Cobra takes the arrow imbedded in Savvy's shoulder and breaks the shaft as close to her skin as he can.

"Hello, this Kismet…"

"Kismet? It's Eve. Can you use my paycheck to sponsor Savvy? Please?"

"Ugh. Eve, why are you making me do more work? I already work hard enough to get men in your door."

"Please Kismet. It's urgent."

"Fine. Your money will be in the account in a few." A dial tone rings in my ear as he hangs up and I watch the number on the screen intently. When it rockets upwards, I realize I'm still a few short. I could sit here and wait to see if any sponsor points come in; I could go find sponsors and leave my station unattended, leaving room for disaster; or I could call Johanna, who's sleeping, and ask her to watch the screen while I get more sponsors.

I figure I shouldn't wake Johanna because she'll be sleeping, so that leaves me with leaving my station to go find sponsors or waiting until money comes in. What if the option I choose gets her killed? I look around hoping to find an answer, but answers don't magically pop out at you. I look at her vitals and see that they're ok, but she's steadily losing blood and I know she could die if I don't get something soon.

I make a decision to run to the reception area to hunt down sponsors, and start running for the door when I realize I have another option. I run back to my desk and pick up the phone.

"Hello this is…"

"Mom! I need you to do something for me. I need a few more dollars for Savvy. Please could you sell some of Savvy's old axes or something. I can't let her die mom! I can't!"

She murmurs a response and hangs up the phone to grab what she can and head to the market. It's district seven, someone should need a new axe, and Savvy hates axes anyway. I wait staring at the screen, watching her blood pool onto the cornucopia and flow off of it onto the street where the mutts are licking it off of the metal structure and the pavestones.

The number goes up a little and I finally have enough to get medicine, then it goes up a little more, and a little more. How much is mom selling? I hurry and purchase the medicine so mom can realize that I've got enough money and stops selling stuff before I come home to an empty house.

The parachute falls down towards the waiting careers and Cobra grabs the thing while it's still in midair and opens the box hurriedly. He grabs the small tube of medicine, rips off the cap, reads the instructions, and pulls the rest of the arrow from her shoulder. She screams and curses him as blood pours more rapidly from her wound, until the medicine is inserted into the gaping hole and the healing process begins.

The blood eventually stops flowing and careers relax a little. They almost lost two of their number in one day. Once the blood on the cornucopia and ground has either been licked off or dried in the sun, the mutts leave, once again harmless villagers, and the careers hop down from their perch.

Savvy's pain is still evident as she moves her arm, but she continues forth with the rest of the careers.

"We need to find water," Carnage motions around them, "I haven't seen any sources yet. And all the water bottles in the cornucopia are empty."


	22. Bottle of Blood

"Well, we're in a town, right?," Silver twirls a strand of her hair in her fingers, "there has to be a well somewhere. All towns have wells."

"Then let's go find a well," Titanium starts off in a random direction.

"Wait!" Savvy heaves as she struggles to catch her breath due to the immense pain, "We can't just wander about aimlessly. We have to think logically. Where do you find wells?"

"Umm," Silver thinks a moment before answering, "at the center of the town or in someone's backyard. Although ages ago, wells were found inside houses."

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're in the center of the town. The cornucopia is always in the center." Bandit interjects.

I check the map quickly, and instantly realize he's wrong. I think for a moment before scrolling through the list and tapping the screen twice.

They all look up as yet again a black parachute with a green seven falls from the sky.

"Damn, Savage. You must have a lot of sponsors." Cobra squeezes her with one arm before reaching for the package and hands it to her. She opens the box with one hand and pulls out the single radish. The other careers stare at her, eyebrows raised.

"My mentor's crazy," she says walking to her right, "follow me."

They walk for a while and Savvy scans the area as she walks making sure I wasn't alluding to a nearby tribute. They continue walking and finally find the center of the town. A square area with vendors' stalls lining it. The pavestones are worn and the houses surrounding the area are clean with full flowerboxes, making this the obvious prime living space due to the evident degradation of the homes the further they lie from the center.

They look around the square and find mutts surrounding a structure in the center. Mutts walk away from the structure at infrequent intervals carrying buckets and jars. The six tributes rush to the center of the crowd and find the well and its bucket. They drop it in hurriedly and pull the old wooden bucket up by its rope. They wrench it onto the ledge and red liquid sloshes out onto the ground.

The surrounding mutts yell in protest, declaring that the six tributes are wasting blood. The tributes jump back, the bucket falls back into the well with a splash and another mutt reaches for the cord to fill his own vessel.

The careers step back to discuss options. They search the web of pathways for another well before deciding that they need another strategy. I watch them check backyards and the interiors of houses before determining they aren't going to find any other wells.

"Should we check for a lake or something?" Titanium pipes up.

"We can't just leave our camp," Bandit judges.

The six ponder for a moment before returning the topic to their original find: the well.

"Why don't we just drink the blood?" Carnage starts, "what if it's really water and the gamemakers are trying to fool us."

Savage perks up when he says this, "when we spilled the blood they didn't go crazy. Maybe it isn't real blood."

The careers return to the well and pull the bucket back out of the water hole. They glance at each other trying to decide who'll be the first to test the water. Cobra pulls out his empty water bottle and dips it in the bucket of blood.

He sips from the bottle and spits the blood out, "That's disgusting!"

The others stare at him disheartened because they now have to find a new source of water. "I guess we could just drink blood," he shrugs and offers the bottle of blood to them. He pushes the bottle at Savvy.

"Aww come on!" He implores pushing the bottle at Savvy, "here I'll drink some more." He takes a large swig of the drink, deep red liquid dripping from the sides of his mouth.

Savvy rips the bottle from his hand, eyes flaring, accepting the challenge he's put in front of her. She licks her lips after drinking a fourth of the bottle and thrusts it into the hands of the nearest career.

"Your turn," the rest of the careers stare at them like they're insane as Savage heads back to the well and fills her bottle to the brim.

Bandit, the current possessor of the bottle, sniffs it contents before shoving it back at Cobra and walking away shouting over his shoulder, "You two can head back to camp. We're going to go find some water." The rest of the careers follow Bandit as Cobra and Savvy saunter down the alley towards the cornucopia.

The sky starts to darken in the arena and I check the time and realize I have not two hours left till I have to leave for the Pink Flamingo and Johanna takes over. In the past when I was mentoring and had to go to the Pink Flamingo I've had to leave my tributes in the hands of whoever is mentoring the other district seven tribute. The first time I mentored I left my tribute alone while I went and the tribute died while I wasn't there.

Cobra and Savvy near the cornucopia and spy a young girl with deep brown hair trying to find a way into the cornucopia. It's Sky from six, and according to the map her allies Freighttrain and Tuli aren't far away. The two careers unsheathe their weapons and advance on the unsuspecting tribute.

Once they're mere meters from the girl, her allies hop out from their hiding spot, the male brandishing a two handed hammer, the female holding a spear she doesn't look comfortable with. The district six male advances slowly, a menacing smile splayed across his face.


	23. Hunting

**Sorry this chapter is late guys. I have no excuse… actually I do, but you guys don't want to hear it.**

The burly tribute who received a six in training and the sprite-like twelve-year old barreled towards Savvy and Cobra who were fighting the quick-footed Sky. Freight's hammers whizzes through the air in an attempted attack on Savvy. She blocks the attacks with the shaft of the battleaxe as the two engage in combat and Cobra takes on the two young girls.

I glance at the mentors of Freighttrain, Sky, Tuli, and Cobra, and see that they too are staring intently at the screens in front of them. I turn back to the action.

Savvy and Freight are still fighting, a deep bruise is visible on Savvy's leg and she limps noticeably with every step. She is not however the only injured party; her opponent has obtained a deep gash along his arm; Cobra is missing a finger; Tuli has a few minor wounds; and Sky lies near death on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her motionless form.

Not soon after the battle starts it ends, the two remaining tributes of the threesome sprint away as the rest of the careers return and charge down the alley towards them.

I glance at Savvy's vitals; her leg has a slight fracture in the bone. Back on the screen I see her limping noticeably. The rest of the careers join Savvy and Cobra.

"We found water. You can get rid of those bottles of blood now," Bandit says.

"Nah, it's all good," Cobra replies, tucking his bottle further into his pack, "This way if I die, some weakling can't get water off my body."

A hand lands on my shoulder and I jump slightly, "I didn't know anyone could still be that jumpy nearly twenty years after their games," Johanna's voice echoes behind me.

"I'm surprised you're not," I reply getting out of the chair and heading for the door, "Take care of her for me. I should be back by one."

I leave the building and notice one or two other mentors leaving their stations as well. I take a cab to the Pink Flamingo and perform the familiar routine robotically, my mind elsewhere. By the time Kismet lets me leave, I know that it's way past 1 o'clock. I hurry to the control room and find Johanna resting on her arm, staring at the screen blankly.

"You know, you have to get used to this," I walk up behind her, "it'll be you someday."

"It's only 4 in the morning," She mumbles with biting sarcasm, "You could have stayed out later."

"I couldn't leave. So what happened while I was gone?"

"Well they went tribute hunting, Carnage stayed behind because they wanted someone who wasn't injured to defend the camp. Cobra helped Savvy walk as they hunted, they found the two tributes from 3 and the tribute from 5 looking inside the cottages for supplies, mostly electric stuff, and Titanium killed the girl from five. Then the other two fled and they went back to camp. So now they're boring, and sleeping."

I check the screen and see all the careers inside the cornucopia sleeping except for Cobra, who's keeping watch. Johanna gets out of the chair and heads back to the room. Tired, I lay on the couch for a nap.

I get up by myself, no alarm and I'm instantly afraid that I missed one, that I slept through the incessant beeping, but I didn't. The careers are just starting to get up and get moving. They talk and plan to head out to find the two tributes from three and destroy them.

They head out into the town, watching out for approaching tributes. Savvy limps along, battleaxe strapped to her back as the pack moves forward in search of the district three camp. As they trudge through the maze of houses, the voices of the tributes they are hunting for blares over the entire control room and over the entirety of Panem.

"You don't think we're being too boring just hiding out in here do you?"

"Pixel, we'll be fine. There was a death just yesterday; the gamemakers won't do anything to us today." Diodes replies.

As soon as he finishes his sentence, a mob of hungry villagers crowd around the small cottage and make quite a bit of noise. Pixel screams and cowers in a corner away from the attacking mutts.

"Pixel, stop freaking out. They can't get in," Diodes stands calmly in the room and pulls the pack off his back to pull out some food.

Back to the careers they hear the ruckus of the mutts and run that way, eager to find prey. They happen upon the cottage that houses Pixel and Diodes and the angry mutts slowly wander away now that the action will commence. Bandit waltzes up to the door and evil smile spreading over his features as he flings his foot forward and kicks the door open.


	24. Unexpected Death

I don't know what these tributes from three do at home, but they somehow managed to booby-trap the door. Bandit is engulfed in flames and the dreams of district two die as his screams of agony fade and his burnt corpse is left as a doormat. The shower of flames finally stops and as the careers approach, Diodes doesn't move from his position and a smile twitches at the corners of his mouth as if he has a secret and all the while his district partner remains in the corner of the room.

Titanium steps cautiously into the room after seeing the fleeting smile of the intelligent boy in front of her. A wire stretches across the ground in front of her she raises her eyebrows and steps over it onto a hidden pressure plate. A bucket above her head tips and she tumbles out of the way, but not quite quick enough. Acid falls on her leg and she screams in pain,

The rest of the careers charge into the house, brandishing their weapons threateningly. Savvy hangs by the door to make sure the two tributes don't escape, but once blood seeps from the wounds inflicted by the careers, the mutts return, enticed by the scent of blood. The group leaves the room, letting the mutts finish off the severely wounded pair.

Three cannon shots signify the death and retrieval of the three dead tributes. The careers settle down for a meal at their camp. Just before they are able to eat their meal, a loud voice booms over the arena, "Congratulations, you have made it to the final ten! As a reward we have a little… game planned for you. You must all proceed to the center of town and the game will be explained."

The careers heave themselves off the ground and head towards the well filled with blood in the center of the town.

"Do you think we're allowed to kill the other tributes if we see them?" Silver asks.

Caesar Flickerman's voice returns, "You are not allowed to attack other tributes until the game is completed. Thank you."

Upon reaching the center, the careers realize that the entire center of town has been rearranged. Instead of a well in the center of the square, rows of benches line two walls opposite each other and a short wall crosses the entire area parallel to the benches. A horse stands at either end of the area and a man stands in the center of the area atop the wall.

The rest of the tributes slowly enter the area and stare around them in awe as they try to figure out what lies ahead. The man on the wall quiets the audience that consists of the villager muttations.

"Today, you will be embarking in a friendly joust. The goal is to reach five points. You can get five points for killing an opponent, three for knocking your opponent off, and one for hitting your opponent. The first pairings have been determined for you by your training scores. The first to reach five points in each pairing moves on to the next round, the winner receives a special prize." All the tributes glance around at each other as they try to determine who their opponent will be.

The man continues, "The pairings are Titanium and Carnage, Cobra and Silver, Buck and Wisteria, Freighttrain and Savage, Velvet and Tuli. Velvet and Tuli you will be the first pairing."

As the two tributes with the lowest scores head over to their mounts the careers discuss amongst themselves. Cobra comes up with the idea they all agree upon, a rather smart plan. Velvet easily knocks Tuli, the small twelve-year old off her horse twice. And Savvy heads up to her horse.

She climbs atop the black stallion and a lance, a long stick used in jousting, is handed to her. She wastes a few minutes trying to balance and maintain a grip on the lance. A flag is waved at the center and the two horses gallop at each other on opposite sides of the fence. Savvy and Freighttrain lower their lances both hit each other, but Savvy's injured leg prohibits her from holding onto the horse tight enough and she falls. A sharp crack is amplified throughout the arena as the bone in her leg that was once just a fracture breaks completely.

Her face goes red as she struggles to get back up, leaning all her weight on the fence, she hobbles back to her horse and a groom helps her back on. Realizing that trying to maintain her balance and stay on the horse in her condition is futile, she drops the lance as soon as the horse begins to go and jumps off rolling away from the dangerous hooves of the animal.

Cobra helps her back to the rest of the careers and she sits against a wall as Buck and Wisteria clamor onto their horses. As the horses canter towards each other, Wisteria's eyes become mere slits and her lance plunges straight into the dark haired boy's shoulder. He tumbles to the ground and refuses to get up, moaning as pain courses through his body.

His mentor slams his fist on the table as Buck's vitals plummet and his life leaks from him. A cannon blast is heard throughout Panem and the control room falls silent. I look around me and see a few of the remaining mentors comforting the district nine mentor. I don't know her well, so I keep my distance

I turn back to my screen and see Cobra and Silver hesitantly getting on their mounts. Cobra and Silver grab their lances and charge each other. Silver can't control her lance and it bounces all over as the horse charges forward. Cobra hits her but she remains on the horse. They nod to each other and get back on the horses. When the horses begin running they enact their plan and Silver "falls" off the horse, gaining Cobra the point. Needing one more point they reenact this scene once again and Carnage and Titanium take their places.

This match is a bit more even and Titanium wins the match after a lengthy battle of one pointers. By the end Titanium's wounds have been rubbed open and blood oozes through her pants. The mutts do not jump forth but remain in their seats.

The man again climbs on top of the wall, "In the second round we have Titanium with five points, Cobra with seven, Freighttrain with six, Velvet with six, and Wisteria with five. As there are five of you, he who finished with the least number of points is disqualified unless one of you wishes to step forth and eliminate themselves from the competition."

Titanium looks at her partners, most of whom nod except carnage who mutters under his breath, as she steps forth, "I'll step down."


	25. More Blades and More Blood

The pavestones around the tributes now shines a deep red with the blood of the injured. Buck's blood lies in a pool near the fence and a little further away where his body was dragged after his defeat; Titanium left small droplets of blood leading to the smearing of blood from the acid that fell on her legs and the chaffing from the horse; and scattered blood drops line the area from the hit of the lance on the tributes.

Cobra and Freighttrain step up to their horses to begin their run; they gallop at each other and the clash of metal on metal causes the tributes standing at the edges of the track to flinch, but neither tribute falls from their horse.

They turn their horses around for another go, and the force behind the lances forces the two battling tributes to clamp their legs to the horse. The tip of Cobra's lance pierces Freighttrain's chest and he gasps for breath, but remains on the horse.

They go again and this time one of the tributes is knocked off his horse. The non-career tumbles to the ground, deep red blood dripping on the pavestones as he walks to the edge of the ring of houses in defeat.

Velvet and Wisteria continue to whisper to each other as the jester calls them forward, two guards bring the two girls forward by force. They seem to have decided to take up the career strategy, as Velvet doesn't even try to hold her lance up. It falls to the ground and she falls from her horse as Wisteria's lance brushes her shoulder; a cloud of brown dirt envelopes the two.

This repeats a second time leaving Cobra and Wisteria competing for the prize. Savage smiles at Cobra as he gets on the horse and he salutes her before charging towards Wisteria. Cobra hits her but falls off his horse. In the next run, Cobra hits Wisteria but she manages to remain on the horse but she misses Cobra by mere inches. In the third run Wisteria hits Cobra and he clings to his horse with his legs, managing to stay on, but missing Wisteria in the process. If wisteria hits him, she wins. If cobra knocks her off, he wins.

The horses charge towards each other, the tributes hit each other and Wisteria falls backwards off her horse. I look over at Wisteria's mentor and see that he is as confused as I am.

The jester jumps onto the fence, "due to the tie between the two competitors, they will share the reward. If the two of you would follow me."

Cobra's hand rests on his sword as he follows the mutt to a tent at the edge of the clearing. The jester talks to them out of earshot and the two tributes respond quietly. They walk back to their teammates in silence.

"What did you get?" Savage whispers to him.

"It would have been ANYTHING we wanted. But now it's almost anything. No killing, no injuring, no magical healing."

"So…?"

"You'll see," he says with a smile.

The jester walks over to Wisteria, grabs a handful of dirt, cups his hands and two fans emerge. Velvet grins wickedly and I immediately know those are for her, but it's impossible to tell if the rest of the tributes know because Wisteria doesn't immediately hand them to her.

The jester walks towards the career pack and again picks up a handful of dirt. He opens his hands to reveal two daggers with blades that extend past the hilt, perfect for slashing. He picks them up and almost dances with them as he moves around the area. The other tributes take off, realizing that now that the competition has ended the killing can commence.

The careers head out towards camp, and a cannon blast is heard over the arena. I look towards the large screen at the center of the room to find Velvet standing in the middle of a young wheat field holding the metal edged fans in her hand, blood dripping from them. The camera pans to the fallen body of her comrade, red lines covering her paling body.

Velvet disappears into the town once more, either in flight or in search of prey. The careers turn to each other and shrug. Less competition. But they'll be breaking up soon, it's inevitable. I can see savage counting in her head, and on her fingers, before looking to Cobra and nodding.

They're definitely planning something. I check the other careers and see that they seem content, for now. They make it back to camp as the sun starts to set and Savage volunteers for the night shift, declaring that it her turn. The rest of the careers settle down to rest and she looks out over the area scanning for moving figures that aren't the village mutts, which is hard to discern in the odd lighting of twilight.

Eventually she stands up and walks around. Stooping to the ground she picks up a pebble and tosses it at the metal cornucopia. A light ping sound echoes from the depths, but none of the careers move after their long day of hunting and jousting. She walks over to their sleeping forms and wakes Cobra. He rises and upon seeing who it is a grin spreads across his face.

They grab their weapons and stand over their teammates, Cobra over his district partner, Silver, and Savage over Titanium. Cobra holds up his hand and counts down on his fingers. Three… Two… One.

**I'm going on a roadtrip tomorrow, and I don't know if I'll be able to update in my usual timeframe. I'll try and write the chapter today and see if I have time to upload it. The next chapter will definitely be up by Tuesday at the latest!**


	26. Traitor

Once all of Cobra's fingers are against the skin of his hand, the two shadows move. Savage slams her battleaxe to the ground, imbedding it in Titanium's neck; and Cobra nudges Silver, waiting for her eyes to open before slicing into her neck with his new blades. A small squeal escapes her throat and two cannons sound, awakening Carnage.

After taking in the scene, blood glistening black in the darkness of night and two allies dead at the traitors' feet, he grabs a spear from the pile of weapons near him. Cobra and Savage circle him, Savage advancing towards his left, Cobra towards his right. He looks between the two before jumping at Cobra, the one with the shorter weapons. He manages a few good hits before Savage's blade is rammed into his calf.

He collapses to the ground and grimaces as he uses the spear to heft himself up. He continues to try to defend himself even though he's up against insurmountable odds. Between Cobra slicing into every piece of flesh he can find and the sheer force of Savage's hits he finally falls and the third cannon sounds.

The two remaining careers high five each other and head back towards the cornucopia. Before I can even react or send a warning, Cobra tackles Savage to the ground and flips her over, "I'm going to enjoy this kill." A grin spreads across his face as her eyes widen in realization and fear.

He takes his blade and slices lightly into her throat. His eyes close as he revels in the sound of her screams. She touches her throat gently and pulls it away coated in blood. A confused look crosses her face and she turns to the side, wincing in pain as the wound tears further. Her hand reaches out for the token the fell when he pushed her to the ground, and the blood from her fingers runs through inset lines of the tree.

The cannon sounds and he jumps off her body. The rest of the mentors stare at me and I realize that my scream is echoing across the room. I reach for the blue sketch book, the scene seared into my mind and allow the drawing to form on the page.

I leave the control room, and head back to the training center and up to the seventh floor. Johanna is frozen in place staring at the TV screen, shocked at the death of her first tribute. I slip past unnoticed and enter Savvy's room. I touch everything even though none of it is really hers.

Johanna searches near the entire building looking for her fellow mentor. After checking the control room, the Pink Flamingo, Eve and her room, she finally enters Savvy's room.

The sheets are stained the unmistakable deep red of blood, Eve lies dead on the bed pale, tear streaks running down e her face and coated in drying blood, a knife from the dining room lies at her side, and a final drawing sits at the foot of the bed.

A dark drawing, entirely of pencil. A pale hand reaches forth touching a small round object on a string, a tree engraved in the center holds the blood of its recently dead owner. Two drops of fresh blood lie of the page glistening red over the pale forearm in its last movement before death.


End file.
